


From Dusk Til Dawn

by Chishiki



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Cliche, Cute, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, I'm bored from quarantine and made this, M/M, Nighttime escapes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23380762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chishiki/pseuds/Chishiki
Summary: Gumball stared into the night, trying to find some kind of moving shadow, and hoping the one he found would be the one he was looking for. It had been three nights, with no sign of his companion. He sighed, folded his arms, and leaned against the railing, ignoring the chill. The night crept on with no sign of the vampire. Where was he?
Relationships: Prince Gumball & Marshall Lee, Prince Gumball/Marshall Lee
Comments: 16
Kudos: 191





	1. Chapter 1 A Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So, before we even start, I know that this idea has been overused. I've read the fanfics. But, I wanted to do it my way and there's nothing else to do since I can't leave my house. I hope you guys enjoy and let me know how you feel about it!

**Chapter 1**

The laboratory was a mess. A well-organized mess, but still a mess. Gumball sighed in frustration, the little plant on the table laughed at him. He needed to clean up, but he was just so close to figuring out why these plants could regenerate the way they did. He just needed a little more time. And a clean lab. And maybe some sleep?

Who was he kidding? He didn’t have time to sleep. He still had to go through the new stack of citizen complaints piled on his desk. A wet glob of sticky, green, gloop smacked him in the face. The plant opened its carnivorous mouth, stuck out its long serpent-like tongue, blew a raspberry, and snickered.

Gumball sighed, a habit he had gotten used to at this point, and wiped the plant spit off his face with a used towel, one reserved for cleaning up such a mess. He took a pair of garden clippers off a side tray and mercilessly trimmed a few leaves off the plant. It hissed in pain, curling its bulbous head around its stem, shivering. A few moments later, another glob of spit hit him and the leaves were back. Gumball took a deep breath and scribbled on his notebook- at this point, it really was a scribble seeing as how it was barely legible. 

The door to his lab opened and Peppermint Maid poked her head in. 

“Excuse me sir, but I think you should get some sleep. You’ve been in here for at least twelve hours.” Gumball glanced at his watch and then at the untouched tray of lunch Peppermint maid had brought him around noon- which was apparently eight hours ago. 

“Thank you, let me just clean up and then I’ll head straight to bed.” He turned to start putting flasks back in their proper places and substances back in their containers. After a few moments, he still hadn’t heard the door shut and glanced back to see Peppermint Maid still standing there. “Was there something else?” The candy shook her head.

“No, sir. With all due respect, I do not trust you to tidy up without getting distracted a few times. The kingdom depends on you and it is my duty to make sure you take care of yourself.” The Peppermint bowed a little, never once leaving her temporary post. Gumball smiled at the candy, nodded, and went back to putting the supplies away. He was halfway through scooping up his tools when he heard a small noise. He darted to the left, just barely missing another ball of spit, and whirled around.

“Ha! I knew you had a pattern. Seven minutes! Seven minutes between each spitball!” He yelled and flung himself at his notepad. He only got three sentences in before Peppermint Maid cleared her throat. Gumball looked over the edge of the paper, a guilty look on his face.

“Sorry, Pepper.” He put the notebook down and locked the plant in one of the free glass cabinets. He wiped the counters down with the rag and left it in the laundry bin. Stretching his arms above his head, he left the room, making sure to leave his lab coat on the coat hook. 

The stairs leading to his room seemed to drag on forever. If Peppermint Maid noticed that he missed a few steps, she didn’t say anything. He had to trace his way up the stairs by keeping one hand on the wall for the last half. No wonder he had been sentenced to bed.

Once he was safely in his room, Peppermint Maid left with the threat that if he went back to his lab at some point during the night, she would leave guards outside the room. He assured her that he wouldn’t and stepped into his adjoining bathroom to change and brush his teeth. 

He pulled his pajama bottoms out of his dresser, shuffling into them. He wandered over to his closet and pulled on the T-shirt Marshall Lee had given him a long time ago. He debated wearing it again tonight but decided on doing so anyway. He sighed, now fully dressed in his jam jams, and made his way to his bed, turning out the lights on his way. His bed was normally extremely comfortable, but for some reason, he just could not find a way to lay without something bothering him. 

His left side was too sore; his right too stiff. Laying on his back only served to regulate his breathing, keeping him focused on other things, like meditation. And laying on his stomach put his neck at a weird angle. He even went so far as to try laying perpendicular on his bed, or hang his feet off the side, or his head. 

This wasn’t working. 

How can one be so exhausted, yet unable to fall asleep? Rolling from side to side he tried to get his brain to shut off, or to at least get so dizzy that he passed out. Nothing. He tried counting candy sheep and listing numbers of pi; he even tried switching his blankets.

Nothing.

He threw his hands down against the mattress with a huff. A quick glance towards the clock told him that he had been at this for far too long; it was 11:30. With a long, exaggerated sigh, he rolled off his bed onto the floor. It wasn’t any more comfortable down there than on his bed. He rubbed his temples, a grimace in place, and stood up to wander onto the balcony. Maybe he just needed some fresh air. 

It was chilly outside, but bearable. The breeze felt somewhat nice after the stifled, reused air of his lab. He folded his arms and leaned against the balcony railing. The night was silent, the only sounds being the wind whispering through the trees and a few creatures going about their business. He looked at his kingdom below, only a few street lights were on, making the kingdom look like a ghost town. Only one or two citizens were out and they seemed to be teenagers or old candies who didn’t know what to do with themselves. 

Gumball closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. It seemed he was the only one having trouble falling asleep.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep, your highness?” Gumball screamed and lept back from the edge, blinking his eyes open. Marshall Lee floated upside down, a foot away from the balcony’s edge, a smug smile adorning his face.

“WHAT THE FLIP, MARSHALL! You scared the stuffing out of me!” Gumball was clutching his chest and gasping for breath. His heart threatened to leap out of his chest and run away from the scare. 

“Quiet! Are you trying to summon your entire army?” Gumball relaxed his posture and Marshall moved to sit on the railing, his feet dangling just a few inches above the balcony floor. Gumball blew a strand of his hair out of the way.

“What are you doing here?” He couldn’t tell yet if this was one of Marshall’s good visits, or if he was here to cause trouble. Marshall smirked at him, picking at a splinter of wood branching off from the railing. 

“You’ve looked better. What’s eating at you this time?” Marshall conveniently ignored Gumball’s question. Gumball frowned and bit his lip to prevent from snapping at the vampire. He took a deep breath, leaning his hip against the railing to keep from falling over. He hugged his arms to his chest, fingers nervously digging into his biceps.

“I just haven’t slept in a while. Between the kingdom and science and other things, I forget that I need it.” Marshall frowned at him. Gumball rubbed his arms, part from the awkwardness of this conversation and part from the cold. 

“Sooooo, why aren’t you sleeping now?” There was concern there, with an underlying hint of mischief that Gumball could sense from a mile away. He chose his next words carefully. 

“I knocked over some chemicals and had to get fresh air. Why?” Marshall grinned again and pushed off from the railing, his feet barely making a sound as they landed on the balcony. He walked over to Gumball, folded his arms, leaned over, and stared into his eyes. Gumball leaned away, choosing to focus on Marshall’s forehead instead of his eyes.

“Yep, you’re lying.” Marshall removed himself from the Prince’s personal space. Gumball relaxed, a relieved sigh quietly leaving his body. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No.” He ran his hands through his gummy hair and looked down into the city again. “I don’t know why it’s so hard.” 

“You’re stressed.” Marshall shrugged, turning to see what Gumball was staring at. There still weren’t many people on the streets, only one that Marshall could see. No one would even notice if he swept the Prince away. 

Marshall grinned at his own private joke, an idea forming in his head. Gumball really did look worse for wear. His shoulders, usually held high with an air of authority, were slumped and his posture relaxed. He had bags under his eyes. His lips were chapped and his breathing was heavier than usual. Marshall noticed the T-shirt but didn’t say anything about it. 

“You wanna go on an adventure?” Gumball looked up at the words, his eyebrows raised, eyes wide.

“Right now? In the middle of the night?” Marshall shrugged, looking over the edge of the balcony. The shiny thing that had caught his eye was just a puddle.

“Why not?” He looked back towards Gumball, a smile creeping onto his lips. “You’re not sleeping anyway and this might help you relax enough to fall asleep.” Gumball bit his lip, glancing back to his room.

“I really shouldn’t. My Kingdom-”

“Is asleep. What could they need you for right now?” It’s true that he wasn’t getting anywhere in there. But he wasn’t sure if he should just leave. What if they weren’t back before morning? What if a crisis happened while he was gone? Or worse, what if Peppermint Maid came back to check on him and he was gone? He really didn’t want the banana guard in his room while he was trying to sleep. 

“What if there’s an attack while I’m gone?” Marshall frowned.

“Do you have this battle with yourself every time you go hang out with Fiona?” Gumball drew in a deep breath. Yes, yes he did.

Marshall stretched a hand out to him. Gumball bit his lip as he made the mistake of making eye contact.

“We won’t be long, Bubbs. What have you got to lose?” Gumball inhaled and steadied himself, pushing off the railing. He had a whole awful lot to lose.

“Fine. But we have to be back before sunrise.” Marshall grinned as Gumball took his hand. 

“Back by curfew? Where’s your wild side, Gum?” Gumball frowned, about to retract his statement. Marshall picked him up and set him on his shoulders, not without protest, and transformed into his bat form. Gumball clung to his fur for dear life as Marshall took off, flying to some mystery location that Gumball hoped was safe and not too far away. 

  
  


They traveled through the forest, over a lake, and through some mountains, Gumball had never bothered exploring before. On the other side was a meadow littered with multi-colored flowers and dark grasses. A river ran along one side and ended in a small pond near the bottom of the center. A few little cotton-puff creatures roamed around and giggled to the flowers. Marshall picked Gumball off his shoulders with one giant, clawed hand and sat him down, before joining him in his humanoid form. Marshall landed on the ground in a crouch and threw his hands in the air, stretching out his back as he did so. 

“And he sticks the landing!” Gumball’s gaze traveled away from him to take in the scenery around them. The moonlight glistened off the stream, illuminating the grass and flowers with a silvery hue. The cotton people danced around occasionally stopping to whisper into the flowers. To Gumball’s surprise, the flowers giggled or whispered back. 

“How did you find this place?” Gumball asked, sitting down on the soft grass. 

“Live for a thousand years and you find a few things.” Marshall sat down next to him, leaning back against the soft earth. The stars shone brightly above and Marshall could make out a few constellations. He glanced over to Gumball who was holding a few cotton puff creatures as they ran over his hands. 

“Hey, you’re a nerd,” Gumball glared at him, but Marshall just shrugged, “do you know any constellations?” Gumball glanced up at the stars as if he was just barely noticing that they were there. He lay back, the cotton puffs losing interest and returning to their flowers. 

“I know a few. There’s not many out tonight.” Marshall shook his head and pointed to a spot in the sky, Gumball’s gaze following.

“That’s Lyra, the harp.” He scooted closer to Gumball until their shoulders were touching, tracing the outline of the constellation. Gumball flinched, not quite used to casual touch, but forced himself to focus on what Marshall was showing him. “It represents a story from the old times about two lovers who were separated by death and tried to find one another.” Gumball hummed, tracing the constellation himself. 

“Did they succeed?” Marshall shook his head.

“This one over here,” Marshall pointed to a new constellation a few stars over, “is Orion the hunter.” Gumball nodded.

“I know him. He has the belt,” Gumball pointed to the three stars, “and his bow.” Marshall turned to smile at him.

“Heeeey, there’s your nerd side. I knew it was still in there.” Gumball nudged him with his elbow; Marshall sniggered. Gumball felt his muscles relaxing, something they haven’t done in a long time. He let a smile creep onto his face as he listened to Marshall’s laugh and studied the sky. 

“This one,” Marshall said after he had stopped laughing, “is Draco, the dragon. He guarded a beautiful garden watched over by a god.”

“What kind of garden?” He turned to face Marshall, who looked more at peace than Gumball had ever seen him before. Marshall took a deep breath.

“A garden where the daughters of the night lived and protected magical apples and sang songs to bring the sunset.” Gumball hummed, taking a deep breath to relax his body. 

“Hey, Marshall? What’s that smell?” He mumbled, something oddly sour drifted towards him on the breeze. Marshall took a few deep breaths before letting a grin creep onto his face.

“Are you hungry?” Marshall stood up and held his hand out. Gumball glanced at it, and for the second time that night took Marshall’s hand. He pulled him up and tugged him towards the clump of trees coating the edge of the river. The sour smell got stronger the closer they got to the trees. Gumball pulled his shirt over his nose, grasping Marshall’s hand a little tighter.

Strange fruits were hanging from the limbs of the trees. They were spiked, round balls with a greenish-brown color that smelled disgusting. 

“It smells like poop.” Marshall laughed, let go of Gumball’s hand, and flew up into one of the trees. A few seconds later, he floated back down with a few of the fruits in his hands.

“I’m not eating something that smells like that.” Gumball squeezed both his hands around his nose, trying to block out the stench. Marshall shrugged and set down two of the fruits and used his fingernails to pry the third open. Gumball took a step back, shivering. 

The inside of the fruit was just as weird looking as the outside. It looked like giant grub worms had hollowed out the middle and died in there, solidifying as only dead things can. Marshall broke off a piece of the yellow brick and promptly threw it in his mouth. Gumball cringed as he chewed it.

“It’s actually pretty good once you get passed the smell.” He broke off another piece and held it out to him. Gumball just shook his head. “Come on, Bubbs. Be wild for once and just try it.” Gumball glared at him and then at the fruit. It looked terrible, but then again so did he and Marshall was still here with him.

Gumball blushed at the thoughts that brought up and dropped his hands. He sighed and reached for the fruit. He almost gagged when he brought it closer to his face. Marshall grinned at him and threw another piece into his own mouth. Gumball followed his example and just tossed it into his mouth so he didn’t have to think about it too much. 

It tasted so weird. It was soft and foamy, almost like edible bubbles. To Gumball’s surprise, it also tasted a bit like sugar and caramel with a hint of garlic. It kind of reminded him of some candy. 

He hadn’t realized that he’d closed his eyes to think about it until he was opening them to see Marshall floating in front of him with a grin on his face, fruit in hand.

“You liked it.” He teased, offering another piece. Gumball was stuck between wanting another piece, and not wanting to give Marshall the satisfaction of admitting that he did in fact like it. 

“It’s...not the best.” Marshall laughed as Gumball took another piece. 

“What if I told you these came from the butts of the cotton creatures?” A horrified look crossed Gumball’s face as Marshall’s laughter increased.

“Do they?!” Marshall was so busy laughing that he couldn’t answer him. He shook his head wildly and Gumball frowned.

“I should know better than to trust you.” He huffed and popped the fruit into his mouth.

“Aw, come on, that was pretty funny.” Gumball flicked the fruit at him and Marshall threw it back. Gumball rolled his eyes, before wandering back towards the river and away from the smell; it was giving him a headache. Marshall finished his last bite and followed him. 

They sat on the bank of the river, enjoying the peace of the night. Gumball glanced back up at the stars again, trying to find the constellations Marshall had pointed out without help.

“Did I tell you about the other constellation I know?” Marshall shook his head and Gumball lay back on the grass. Marshall followed his lead and Gumball scooted over to him. 

“That one, right there,” he traced the pattern so Marshall could follow along, “is Cygnus. It’s a swan who’s supposed to be a god in disguise.” Gumball fought the urge to yawn.

“Which god?” Gumball shrugged.

“I’m not sure. A pretty important one.” Gumball frowned in thought before turning back to Marshall. “Can you tell me that story from before? The one about the harp constellation?”

“Are you sure, Gum? It’s a pretty sad one.” Gumball nodded, turning on his side to face Marshall, using his hands as a pillow.

“Yeah. I’m curious.” Marshall took a deep breath and looked back at the stars. 

“I can’t remember all of it, but I do know that it starts with a boy who was blessed by the gods to have a beautiful voice that could enchant anyone or anything that heard it.”

“I can see why you like this story.” Marshall turned with a grin to look at the candy prince.

“Are you calling my voice enchanting?” Gumball snorted. “Anyway,” he turned back to the sky, “one day he meets this girl and they fall in love. Everything goes great for a while, but then one day, she takes a nap in a meadow. Which is all fine and dandy, until a serpent crawls by and bites her. She dies from the poison and the boy finds her later.” 

Gumball felt his eyes drifting closed and he blinked them open, trying to focus on the sound of Marshall’s voice. 

“He’s so overcome with grief that he walks all the way to the underworld to bargain with the God of Death for her soul. He sings him a song filled with sorrow and love. And the God’s wife takes pity on him and asks her husband to let the girl go.”

Gumball shakes his head gently, trying to refocus on the story, but he’s so tired, and Marshall’s voice is so soothing. The gentle breeze that continued to stir the meadow was comforting, keeping the meadow at a pleasant temperature. He finds himself relaxing against his will and his eyes sliding shut.

“The God says that he’ll give them a test. If they can walk back the way he came, single file, with her behind him, all the way to the mortal realm, they are free to go.”

That was the last thing he heard before he was lulled to sleep by Marshall’s voice and the singing of the river. 

  
  


Gumball felt a small tickling along his neck. He tried to brush it off, but it kept coming back. Begrudgingly, he opened his eyes to see a few flowers crawling over him and giggling. He smiled for a second before he heard a chuckle to his left. He looked over to see Marshall playing with the flowers, a few of them twisting themselves into a crown on his head. 

Gumball sat up, careful not to disturb the flowers, and felt some shifting on his own head as well. Marshall glanced up at his movement. 

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.” Gumball grimaced and looked up at the sky to see there were still stars there.

“How long was I asleep?” Marshall shrugged and put down the flowers and cotton creatures he was playing with.

“Not longer than an hour.” Gumball gently pushed the flowers off his lap and stood up.

“I should probably get back.” Marshall sighed, standing up as well. He reached over and gently plucked the flower crown off his head.

“I didn’t know that you liked to kidnap innocent flowers, Bubbs.” Gumball shrunk into himself. 

“I expected it from you, Lee.” He reached over to take the flowers off Marshall’s head, who looked confused.

“When did they get up there?” Gumball let out a tiny laugh and they placed the flowers on the ground; where they untangled themselves and ran off with some cotton creatures. Marshall transformed into his bat form, causing Gumball to jump a little when he was suddenly grabbed by a huge clawed hand. 

The ride home wasn’t as scary as the ride there. The night was peaceful and quiet. Marshall wasn’t flying as fast either, so the wind was calmer and not ripping at Gumball’s clothes. He was still relieved when he saw the Candy Kingdom not far ahead. 

He slid down Marshall’s arm onto the balcony, the vampire transforming back and sitting on the railing. Gumball turned around to face Marshall.

“Thank you. That place was really beautiful.” Marshall nodded, leaning back against thin air. 

“No problem.” Gumball turned to go inside, before pausing and biting his lip. “What is it?”

“How,” he hesitated, looking back to Marshall, “how did that story end?” Marshall grinned, putting his elbow on his knee and rested his head on his hand.

“There was one condition for the test. He couldn’t look back to see if she was still there with him. He just had to trust that she would follow him.” Gumball leaned against the railing, fingers tapping his arms.

“But why? What’s the point?” Marshall studied Gumball’s expression for a moment before answering.

“It was a test of faith and trust. If they really loved each other, they should be able to trust each other enough to follow the condition. He had to believe that she wanted to come home and be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.” Gumball sighed, biting his cheek.

“Did they make it?” Marshall’s smile dropped.

“They walked and walked and never once did he look back. But it was a long journey and doubt started to weigh on his mind. He could see the end of the tunnel, they were so close, but he couldn't leave without knowing if his wife was there. So he turned around. And there she was, for a second, before she was pulled back into the underworld forever.” Gumball let out a sad, choked noise.

“Why? He was right there? Was he really that impatient?” Marshall shook his head. 

“I don’t think he was impatient. I think he got so excited that they had done it, that they were close enough to the end, and he wanted to share that joy with her.”

“Oh.” Gumball thought about it for a moment; it made sense from both sides. But, he liked Marshall’s ending better. He felt a yawn tugging at him and he couldn’t suppress it. Marshall grinned at him.

“Am I that boring?” Gumball shoved his arm and covered another yawn.

“No, dingus. I should probably get to sleep though.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Thanks, again. I really enjoyed your story.”

“No problem. You really need to loosen up sometimes. See you later, Bubba.” Marshall stood up, stretching his back.

“Bye, Marshall Lee.” Marshall saluted and then floated off into the early morning. Gumball took one last look at the stars before going inside and slipping into bed. 

This time, it didn’t take long before he was comfortable and drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: A Festival

Gumball sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as a candy citizen went on, continuing her complaint.

“And it’s not like I don’t ask him to leave my flowers alone. I do! Every day! He just eats them and plants new ones at night thinking I won’t notice.”

“I don’t eat your flowers ya old coot.” Another citizen yelled at her, waving his cane in her direction. Mrs. Butterfield and Mr. Licorice had lived next to each other for years. And it was always the same complaint. 

“Of course you do! They’re always a different color!” Gumball reached between them to gently push them away from each other before they started swinging canes. 

“I ain’t never touched ‘em!”  Too late, he threw his cane at Mrs. Butterfield. Gumball caught it before it could hit her and returned it to Mr. Licorice.

“Mrs. Butterfield, I suggest we put a fence around your flowers to protect them. Will that be okay?” The old candy woman thought for a moment, before nodding.

“That should be fine. As long as he doesn’t climb it!”  She jabbed her cane into the old candy next to her and then gently knocked it against Gumball’s knees. 

“You’re a good Prince, my boy.” Gumball patted her head and watched as the two walked away. He sighed, reaching into his bag; he only had one citizen complaint left to deal with and the sun was going down. 

He made his way to the candy’s house, jogging at a slow pace so as not to tire himself as the candy lived on the edge of the kingdom. He read the report on the way. Another petty theft of crops because they grew over the fence. 

He got there right at sunset, knocking on the door a sheen of sweat coating his skin. He waited a few moments with no response before knocking again. Soon, a chocolate bar opened the door, a blanket wrapped around them.

“Hello, Mrs. Joy.” Another candy bar and a tiny one appeared behind him. “Hello, Mrs. Joy and baby Joy.” The baby giggled and ran back inside.

“Prince Gumball! What can we do for you?”  Gumball pulled the paper back out of his bag.

“I’m here about your complaint.” The candy bar waved him off.

“Don’t worry, your highness. We took care of it. Thank you though!” Gumball looked back down at the report.

“Oh, are you sure? It says here that all your crops were stolen?” The Candies nodded, stepping outside and motioning for Gumball to follow them. They led him to the back of their house where their garden full of lush plants looked untouched. 

“They were. But the neighbors brought them back when Baby Joy gave them a mud pie. Now they leave us alone.” Gumball looked to see a row of mud pies surrounding their garden, which looked more like dirt mounds than pies. 

“Okay, do you still want me to talk to them for you?”  The candies shook their heads and led Gumball back to the front of the house. 

“No, we’re all good now. It really helped us learn that we don’t need you for everything. We can solve our own problems!” Gumball inhaled deeply, clutching the report to his chest. 

“Right. That’s…. Good! That’s good.” He exhaled and shoved the report back in his bag. He rocked on his toes for a second before bringing his hand up to wave goodbye.  “Well, you guys have a good night.”

“Goodnight your majesty!”  Baby Joy waddled out of the house and into one of the Mrs. Joy’s arms.

“G’night you Majestee.” Gumball smiled and bowed to the family. Then he turned and walked back to the castle. The sun was rapidly disappearing and the candy people were going inside for the night. He saw Miss Taffy carrying a whole bunch of groceries across the street. 

“Miss Taffy? Would you like some help?” The taffy shook her head.

“No thanks, your highness. I’ve got it! Have a good night!” Gumball waved as she disappeared inside her house. He let out a huge sigh and continued toward the castle. The candy citizens waved to him as he passed, but otherwise didn’t pause what they were doing. At least they weren’t chasing him down for being a lizard person. He shivered.

The castle residents were all asleep, except for Peppermint Maid and the Banana Guard. Pepper was waiting for him as he got back to the front doors.

“Did you finish all the complaints, your highness?” Gumball handed her the bag full of reports and took off his shoes- closing the door behind him. 

“Yes. Most of them were from Mrs. Butterfield. I’m going to go take a bath and go to bed. Thank you.”  He shrugged off his coat and Peppermint Maid took it. He trudged up to his room, sighing and leaning against his door. It had been a long day and it seemed he wasn’t needed as much as he used to be. The citizens were learning to take care of themselves, something he wasn’t sure they could do. 

“Something wrong, your highness?” Gumball screamed, flinging himself against the wall. Marshall was lying on the floor, his legs resting on Gumball’s bed. Gumball took a heavy breath in and let a shaky one out. 

“You have got to stop doing that Marshall. You’re going to give me a heart attack.” Marshall grinned and sat up, swinging his legs off the bed. 

“You’re stressed again.” Gumball opened his mouth to reply, when a knock sounded from the other side of his door.

“You okay, your majesty? We heard a scream.” Gumball opened the door a crack and poked his head out. Two banana guards stood outside, staff at the ready.

“I’m fine. I just saw… a spider. Sorry to worry you.”  Marshall crept up behind him and walked his fingers up Gumball’s back, letting out a tiny hiss. 

“What’s that?” Gumball shook his head, elbowing Marshall behind the door. 

“The spider. Don’t worry. It’s okay.”  The banana guards frowned, but took a step back.

“Okay, well just call if you need us.” Gumball nodded and shut the door, throwing a glare at Marshall.

“What are you doing here?” Marshall shrugged, wandering about the room. He had no doubt gone through his stuff earlier when Gumball wasn’t here. 

“There’s a festival in the woods tonight. Do you want to go?”  Gumball looked back at his door, then to the window where Marshall was standing.

“But what if…”

_ “ _ _ We don’t need you for everything. We can solve our own problems.”  _ Gumball fell silent. He gazed at Marshall trying to find an excuse not to go, but nothing found its way past his lips. Did he even want one?

“What if?” Marshall raised an eyebrow, holding out his hand. Gumball bit his lip and shook his head.

“I have to take a shower first. Wait here.” Gumball grabbed some casual clothes from his closet and set off for his bathroom. Marshall watched him until the door shut and then sat down on his bed with a sigh. Gumball always took the longest showers. 

Gumball’s room was unnaturally silent, not even the wind from the open window made a sound. Marshall sat on his desk, rifling through his recipe box. 

To Marshall’s surprise, Gumball was out and dressed in five minutes. He was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, more casual than Marshall had ever seen him. 

“You’re staring. Is it weird?” Gumball looked down at his outfit before grabbing a black cardigan from his closet and pulling it over his shoulders. Marshall shook his head.

“You look fine, but that might be a smart choice. It’s a bit cold out tonight.” Gumball shot one more look at his door. He shouldn’t go. He still had paperwork to do. But, when he met Marshall’s eyes, there wasn’t any other choice for him. He took Marshall’s hand as they walked onto the balcony. 

Marshall lifted him in his arms, Gumball yelped grabbing onto his shoulders. He glared at Marshall, opening his mouth to protest.

“Do you want to walk? I’m sure the folks at the festival wouldn’t appreciate a giant bat appearing out of nowhere.” Gumball closed his mouth, pressing his tongue to the roof of his mouth. 

“Just,” He inhaled,  “just don’t drop me.”  He squeaked when Marshall floated them over the balcony, glancing at the ground. Marshall grinned and let go of the candy prince. Gumball screamed as he clung to the vampire for dear life.

“I’ve changed my mind! Put me back and go by yourself!” Marshall laughed and put his arms back around Gumball, supporting him again.

“You’re fine; open your eyes.” Gumball shook his head, burying it in Marshall’s neck. Marshall sighed, flying them to the forest. He set them down a few feet away from the festival, behind a copse of trees. Gumball still clung to him.

“You can let go, Bubbs. We’re here.” Gumball wearily opened his eyes, glancing around at the trees. He let out a few shaky breaths and detached himself from Marshall. Music was thumping through the ground and the festival lights were reflecting on Marshall’s face, fractured by the leaves on the trees.

“You,”  Gumball breathed between clenched teeth, “Are. Terrible.” Marshall grinned, bowing deeply. 

“You survived.” Marshall stood back up and gestured to the festival.  “Let’s go have fun.” Gumball sighed, shaking the tension out of his body. He glanced at the sky, then the festival. He was already here, might as well. 

“Yeah, okay.” Marshall grinned and took the lead. Gumball followed him, looking around at all the lights and booths. It smelled like cotton candy and sweat mixed with the earthy aroma of the forest. It was unnerving. Marshall grabbed his hand when he started getting left behind. 

“Don’t get lost now, your highness.”  He had been called that all day, but for some reason, it felt more relaxing and comforting coming from Marshall.

“Sorry,” was all he could mutter as Marshall led him to a circle of booths containing a bunch of different games. A lot of people wandered around, talking and enjoying themselves.

“Take your pick, Bubbs.” Gumball shrank back, glancing at Marshall with worried eyes.

“I don’t know what I’m doing.” He whispered quietly. Marshall frowned lightly, trying to maintain an air of mischief.

“You’ve never been to a festival before?” Gumball sucked in a breath of air, his shoulders tense. 

“I have. But I’m usually the one running it or putting it together.” Marshall bumped his shoulder and pointed towards a booth with stacks of bottles and tennis balls.

“That’s an easy one. You throw the ball at the bottles and try to knock over as many as you can.” Against Gumball’s protests, Marshall dragged him over to the booth. 

“Hey Marshall Lee!” The little goblin creature at the booth greeted him. Marshall waved.

“Hey, Kobee. Can we take a spin?” Gumball hated this. Hated all the people around and hated that he didn’t know what he was doing. Marshall poked him in the cheek.

“Don’t you need tickets or something to play?”  Marshall laughed and shook his head. 

“Nah, everyone here owes me at least five favours. Free stuff, Bubbs. Don’t take being immortal for granted.” Kobee handed Marshall two tennis balls and wandered off. 

“This is silly.” He hugged his arms, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

“You need to loosen up, Gum. You don’t have to do everything perfectly.” Marshall handed Gumball one of the tennis balls. The goblin was talking to some people at the other end of the booth. Marshall threw a ball at one of the towers, he hit the top bottle and shrugged.

“See, it is what it is. As long as you have fun.” Gumball took a deep breath and chucked the ball. It hit in the center and all three bottles went down. Marshall raised his hand for a fist bump.

“Hey. I did it.” Gumball smiled and accepted the fist bump. The goblin turned his attention to the fallen bottles and waddled over. 

“Congratulations, you’ve won a prize.” Kobee ducked behind the counter and pulled out a tiny bracelet. It was a thin, pale blue metal ring.

“That’s pretty lame, Kobee.” Marshall snickered, leaning against the counter. Gumball elbowed him. 

“Be nice, Marshall.”

“Nah, Marshall, watch.” Kobee clipped it onto Gumball’s wrist and pressed the center of it. It turned into a small dagger clipped to his wrist. It was kind of like Fiona’s leaf sword but small and metal. 

“Sweet.” Gumball took a few swings before transforming it back.  “That’s actually really useful.” Marshall shrugged.

“Alright, Kobee. You proved yourself tonight.” Marshall waved goodbye to the goblin and Gumball rushed to catch up to him, after thanking the goblin of course. 

Marshall dragged him from booth to booth, making him play every game he could. At the ring toss Marshall won a BMO plush and Gumball got one ring. It was okay though because he used his rings trying to knock Marshall’s off course. They played a game where they had to shoot water into a clown’s mouth to fill up a balloon. Gumball won that one and gained a few stress balls as a prize. Marshall noticed that he would squish them in his pocket and giggle a little.

“They’re so weird,” Gumball said when he asked about it. 

Gumball’s favourite game was the darts. His main goal there was to pop the balloons Marshall went after. He would watch Marshall’s eyes as they scanned the dartboard and then throw a dart at the one he was looking at before Marshall could. 

“Gumball, that is very irritating.” Marshall lost as he threw all his darts a split second after the candy prince, just barely missing the balloons. Gumball laughed and handed him one of the two black bags the goblin running the game handed him as a prize.

“A peace offering?” Marshall took it, shaking it; it weighed very little.

“What’s in it?” Gumball opened his and poured it into his palm. 

“It’s candy?” Gumball looked up from his assortment of fruit candies to see Marshall grinning and holding a piece of bubblegum. They made eye contact and Gumball shook his head. Marshall waggled his eyebrows and stuck it in his mouth.

“I hate you,” Gumball whispered.

“You love me, Bubbs.”  Marshall managed to get out before he was being tackled to the ground. The look of surprise on his face was priceless and Gumball couldn’t help but laugh, dropping his candy on the ground as he did so. 

“Aha! Point for Fiona!” Fiona cheered as she pinned Marshall to the ground. Marshall hissed, fighting the urge to transform into his bat form and knock her off.

“Fine, fine. You got me this time. But you better sleep with one eye open.” Fiona laughed as she got off him and helped him up.

“Whatcha eating there, Marshall?” Cake asked, raising her eyebrows at him. Marshall grinned, blowing a bubble and letting it pop.

“Bubblegum.” The two girls looked towards Gumball and he felt his face heat up in shame. A few strangled noises escaped his throat before he could explain.

“It is not like that. We won some candy at this game.” Marshall blew another bubble, winking at Gumball as he did so.

“We? I distinctly remember a prince taking cheap shots to prevent me from doing anything.” Gumball smirked despite still being slightly embarrassed. 

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Marshall shook his head. Fiona looked between the two of them frowning. Cake nudged her and waggled her eyebrows.

“I still have like seven pieces left in here.”

“Oh! Right!” She dug into her bag and pulled out a bunch of folded swans.  “I made these for you Gumball. To show my appreciation for your help finding that dungeon.” 

“Oh? Um, thank you.” He had nowhere to put them, so he just held onto them. Marshall showed Fiona the bag of candy and BMO plush and she showed him all the prizes she had won that night. Gumball showed her the sword bracelet and she about swooned. 

“Cake and I were about to go get some hot dogs. Wanna come?” The two boys shared a look and Marshall shrugged. Gumball turned back to Fiona.

“Sure, why not.” They all made their way towards one of the vendors and got hot dogs. Then they wandered around, eating and talking. Marshall kept glancing at Gumball to make sure he was still having fun and not freezing up like he had when they first got here. 

“Oh my glob! Cake! A Ferris Wheel!” Fiona herded everyone over. Dropping their stuff off near the base of the ride. Gumball leaned back, digging his heels into the dirt.

“You know, maybe I’ll sit this one out. We just ate hot dogs after all.”  Fiona shook her head at him and pushed him and Marshall into a seat, taking the one behind them for her and Cake. Gumball held tight to the railing as the ride started, squeezing his eyes shut. Marshall, who was leaning against the edge and not even paying attention to the railing, looked over in concern.

“Why are you so afraid of heights?”  Gumball shook his head, pressing himself against the seat- and maybe scooting the tiniest bit closer to Marshall.

“I’m not scared of heights. I’m scared of falling.”  Marshall glanced at the machine and then back at Gumball’s face.

“But, you’re not going to fall.”  Marshall scooted closer and patted Gumball’s hands desperately grasping the rails.  “The railing is in place and the whole ride is pretty steady.”  Gumball pressed his side against Marshall as they reached halfway.

“I know. I know that, in my brain. But I just-”  Marshall squeezed his hands.

“Gum,”  he whispered in what he hoped was a reassuring voice,  “what happened?” Gumball gently opened his eyes, if only to escape the images playing behind his eyes. 

“I still think about-” He drew in a deep breath,  “about when, the Lich-” Images of the Ice Queen and falling and toxic goo filled his mind. Tears swam in his eyes and he squeezed them shut again. Marshall, having heard the story from Fiona, placed his hands on Gumball’s cheeks, swiping away the tears with his thumbs.

“Bubba, deep breaths.” Gumball tried to steady his breathing, blinking his eyes open, to meet Marshall’s.  “Do you trust the Ice Queen?”  Gumball tried to stifle a laugh.

“Glob no.” Marshall smiled.

“Do you trust science?” Gumball nodded.  “And science built this right?” He used one of his hands to knock on the back of the seat. 

“Yeah. It did.”  Marshall nodded.

“Okay then. You’re not going to fall. And if you did, which you won’t, but if you did, I would catch you, okay?” Gumball let out a shaky breath, covering Marshall’s hand with his own.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”  They had reached the top of the Ferris Wheel and could hear Fiona and Cake cheering. “You’re never nice.” Marshall felt a frown tug at his lips.

“Because I-” 

“Yo Marshall!” Fiona threw a plush at them, hitting Marshall in the back of the head. Marshall frowned for real then, turning to glare at Fiona.  “Stop scaring Gumball, you wad!”

“It’s, it’s okay, Fiona!” Gumball called, scooting away from the vampire. She glared, before returning to her seat and talking with Cake. 

“Thanks, Marshall,”  he whispered as they reached the ground. When Fiona and Cake joined them, Cake handed each of the boys a caramel apple.

“Cake got us some apples!” They looked at Cake.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t steal them.” They all sat on the ground, talking and eating their caramel apples. It grew late and the goblins started closing up the festival. 

“Come on Fiona, we should be getting home.”  Cake spoke once she had finished her apple. Fiona took her last bite, throwing her apple core into the forest. Gumball stood up, followed by Marshall.

“Oh poop, Cake. It’s not even that late.” Cake shook her head.

“Uh-nuh girl. It’s 3 a.m. You need your sleep. You have that thing with LSP tomorrow.” Fiona sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, bye Gumball, bye Marshall!” Fiona hopped on Cake’s back and they rode away. Gumball finished off his apple, throwing the stick into a nearby garbage bin, along with Fiona’s swans, which hadn’t been picked up yet. Marshall gave him a look and he just shrugged.

“You ready to go?” Marshall held his hand out. Gumball took a deep breath, stepping into Marshall’s arms. 

“Don’t drop me.” Marshall inhaled, wrapping his arms tightly around Gumball as he lifted him off the ground.

“I got you.” Gumball opened his eyes, looking over Marshall’s shoulder as he flew them back to the kingdom. His grip on Marshall tightened, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open. The trees were really pretty from up here and he could see for miles. The stars were bright and the moon illuminated the world, casting everything in an unearthly glow. 

“Woah,” He pushed himself up, balancing on Marshall’s shoulders with his hands- trusting Marshall not to drop him.  “You see this all the time?” Marshall paused, glancing up at Gumball to see his eyes wide and mouth open in awe.

“Do you wanna go higher?”  Gumball looked down, exhaling his air, fingers tightening around Marshall’s shoulders. He bit his lip and glanced at the ground. They were pretty high up already. How much higher can they go? He glanced into Marshall’s eyes.

“Promise you won’t drop me.” 

“I promise.” Gumball shook his head, carefully holding out his hand.

“You have to pinkie promise. Pinkie promise you will not drop me.” Marshall shifted Gumball’s weight to one arm and held up his hand, locking their pinkie’s together.

“I pinkie promise that I will not drop you.” Gumball took a deep breath, letting it circulate in his lungs before letting it out slowly.

“Okay.” Marshall grinned and slowly flew them higher and higher. Gumball took slow, deep breaths, focusing on Marshall and how pretty it was up here. Marshall stopped when he noticed that Gumball was laughing. He started pointing out things he could see and things that looked pretty.

“Oh! And there’s Fiona’s treehouse! And those mountains we went to a few nights ago!”  Marshall smiled, taking this moment to memorize Gumball’s smile, it didn’t often appear in his presence. Then he too, glanced around at their surroundings, his smile growing into a grin as he moved them a few feet over.

“Bubba,” the candy prince looked down at him,  “do you trust me?”  Gumball stared at him for a moment, looking into his eyes. He pressed his lips together, thinking.

“Yeah,” he breathed,  “yeah, I do.” Marshall grinned; Gumball swallowed nervously.

“Good.” He was falling before he could even comprehend it, reaching out for Marshall on instinct. He didn’t even get to scream as his throat closed up and his feet hit the railing surrounding his balcony. Marshall cackled as Gumball clung to his forearms. He exhaled shakily and slapped Marshall’s arms a few times.

“You are a butt.” He pushed him away, stepping off the railing and onto the actual balcony.  “You’re a butt. You pinkie promised.”  He dissolved into laughter; Marshall following. 

“And yet,” Marshall said, after he finished laughing.  “You’re still alive.”  Marshall straightened out to wave goodbye. “Goodnight, Bubba.” Gumball reached out, grabbing Marshall’s wrist before he could leave. 

“Hey,” He whispered gently,  “thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun.” Marshall shrugged.

“It was no big deal.” Gumball shook his head, an air of seriousness. 

“No, seriously. Thank you.” He smiled. “See you around?” Marshall smiled back, gently removing his wrist from Gumball’s grasp. 

“Yeah, see you later.” Gumball watched until Marshall was out of sight, glancing up to the stars once he was. He stood on his tiptoes, trying to see as far as he had when they had been up in the air, but the trees were too close now and some of the towers blocked his view. 

A loud knocking sounded from his door. He sighed, turning away from the railing and making his way through his room. He opened the door to a Banana guard poised to knock again.

“Sorry, your highness,” at least he looked apologetic,  “but Cinnamonbun has upgraded her night light.” Gumball sighed again, shrugging on his coat.

“Let’s go see if she’s okay with just one.”  Sleep would have to wait tonight. 


	3. It's Not Like That!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in Fiona's pov most of the time. Sorry, but this was a hard chapter to write and I think it adds something. Let me know if you guys have ideas or just have something to say! Enjoy!

Gumball tapped his pencil against the clipboard, glancing around the square. He was throwing a celebration for Root Beer Girl, congratulating her on becoming Captain of the Banana Guard. He had balloons, music, and a food table. Fiona and Cake were hanging streamers from the lampposts and stringing them between the houses and buildings on either side.

He looked at his clipboard to see if there was anything he was missing. Decorations, music, food, what else? More punch maybe? You could never have enough punch; especially with the candy people. 

“Yo, Gumball!” Fiona shouted, flipping off the roof of a nearby building and running over to him.  “We got the decorations all set up. Now we just have to go grab Party Pat.” Gumball nodded, holding up a finger as he scribbled on the clipboard. Fiona and Cake grinned, looking behind him.

“Okay, and on the way could you-” He froze as he felt a weight rest on his head. Fiona and Cake looked ready to burst; their faces read and shoulders shaking.  “What is that?” Something trailed down his neck and he shivered, not daring to move. 

“A spider.” He threw his hands up, holding the clipboard, and smacked whatever was on his head. He heard a hiss and turned around to see Marshall holding his nose. Fiona and Cake laughing. 

“Oh, Glob! Sorry, Marshall!” He held his clipboard to his chest. Marshall poked his nose a few times before shaking his head. He started laughing. 

“Oh, you should’ve seen your face!” Fiona spurted between laughs. Gumball frowned, his face hot. Marshall wiped a tear from his eye as he tried to stop laughing.

“That was too perfect.” Gumball smacked him in the arm, letting out a tiny laugh himself. 

“What are you doing here?” Marshall picked up his umbrella from the ground and pulled his gloves up. 

“Fiona said you were having a party, and frankly I’m offended that I wasn’t invited.” Gumball drew in a breath, fingers tightening on his clipboard. He hadn’t even thought of sending the vampire an invitation.

“It was just supposed to be the candy people. I’m promoting Root Beer Girl to Captain of Banana Guard. But, you’re welcome to stay.” Fiona shot a glance at him. Gumball usually treated Marshall like an annoyance. Fiona wasn’t used to her friends getting along; it was nice.

“Yo, PG!” She shouted. Gumball flinched and turned to her.  “We’re gonna go grab Party Pat. Don’t get kidnapped while we’re gone!” She ran off. Cake winked at them before chasing her. Gumball raised an eyebrow, turning to stare after them. 

“That was weird.”  Marshall adjusted his umbrella and drifted over to check out the decorations.

“Why are you promoting someone who isn’t a banana?” Marshall took a small red candy off the table, turning it round in his fingers before sucking the red out. Gumball sighed, straightening the table cloth.

“All my banana guards failed my test. My security is worse than I thought.”  Marshall chuckled, taking another candy.

“Anyone could have told you that, Bubbs.” He looked up at the huge Gumball Guardians, pointing to one of them.  “Those are the best you have. Or those Rattleball guys you had a while ago.”

“You know about those? They were too dangerous.”  He smacked Marshall’s hand when he reached for another candy.  “How am I supposed to protect my kingdom if all my security doesn’t work?” Marshall frowned, sneaking a candy when Gumball dragged his hands down his face. 

“Make more Gumball Guardians? Hire other people that aren’t candy? Make different candies that aren’t violent nor stupid.” Gumball thought for a second. He glanced towards his tower, then back at Marshall.

“I am working on something. Do you want to see it?” Marshall stopped trying to steal the candies and shrugged. 

“Sure, why not?”  Gumball waved him over to the base of the tower. He checked to make sure no candy people were around and opened the secret entrance. Once they were inside, he shut the door and reached for the torch that was supposed to be there. He felt around the wall, but couldn’t find it.

“Uh, what are you feeling up the wall for?” Gumball felt his face heat up and turned to where he thought Marshall was. 

“There should be a torch here to see with. Maybe I forgot to bring it back that one time?” Marshall grabbed his hand and started pulling him forward. 

“I got this. Night vision, boom.” Gumball sighed, holding tight to Marshall’s hand. He knew his own tunnel, he could get there by himself. He tripped over a stray rock.  “Oh, careful.” Marshall pulled him closer.  “Are we looking for a door?”

“Which door?” Marshall hummed, tilting his head to read the sign better.

“Your lab apparently.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s the one.” Gumball opened the door with his free hand and pulled Marshall inside, turning on the light. He removed his hand from Marshall’s, a small blush on his cheeks. “Thanks… for that.”

“No problem, Bubbs. What would you do without me?” Worry about the kingdom, focus on work, try to forget he ever existed. Gumball strode over to the cabinet he had locked the plant in. He pulled the plant out and set it on the counter. 

“A plant?” Marshall flinched back when the plant unfurled and hissed at him.  “What the glob Gumball?”

“Don’t worry. It’s practically harmless. Watch this.”  Gumball grabbed the clippers and cut off one of the leaves. Marshall hissed under his breath.

“That’s rude, Gum.” Gumball shook his head. The plant shrieked and curled in on itself. 

“It’s fine.”  The plant grew back its leaf and spit at Gumball; he dodged it and it hit the wall. 

“Woah. That’s freaky.” Marshall floated over to the goo and poked it with his finger. 

“I was trying to figure out what strand of DNA contains its regenerative ability. If I can find it and isolate it- don’t put that in your mouth- then I can change candy people's DNA and I won’t have to worry as much.”  Marshall had been sniffing the plant spit and wiped it off on a nearby towel. He wandered back over to the candy prince and tried to poke the plant. It just hissed at him, trying to bite his finger. He pulled it out of the way just in time. 

“Then you won’t have to clone as many people like you do with that ice cream bar?” Gumball nodded, putting the plant back in the glass cabinet. The plant spit at him before he could close the door and it hit him in the face. He frowned, taking the water out of the cabinet before locking it.

“That’s pretty cruel, Bubbs. It’s just defending itself.” Gumball looked down at the water dish. He sighed, unlocked the cabinet and put the dish back in. The plant sneered at him and he sneered right back. He relocked the cabinet. 

“There was something else I wanted to show you.” Gumball turned the lab lights off and grabbed Marshall’s hand, leading him out of the lab and up the stairs. He often trekked this half of the journey in the dark and knew it by heart.

“We’ve established that I can see in the dark.” Gumball shook his head and stopped halfway up the stairwell.

“Then you’ll be able to see this.” He pushed a brick and the wall slid away to reveal another secret tunnel. Marshall whistled under his breath and followed Gumball into the tunnel. 

“Where does this one go?”  Marshall asked, running his hand down the ancient brick as Gumball closed the entrance. 

“It leads to the kitchen. I use it when Peppermint Maid and Butterscotch Butler refuse to let me in late at night. Fiona and I made something for you.” They exited the tunnel and Gumball searched through the cabinets. He pulled out a giant candy wrapped in a cloth and handed it to Marshall.

“You made this for me?”  Gumball rubbed his arms and glanced away. Marshall unwrapped the candy.

“Well, Fiona messed up the recipe, so we couldn’t use it for the party, but I thought we could make it anyway, for you- you know, since it’s red.” Marshall bit into it, sucking a little red out. He smiled.

“Thank you. It’s really good.” Gumball smiled back and closed the cabinets.

“Would you like to help me make more? Before the party?” Marshall gasped, placing a hand against his heart and leaning back a little. 

“You mean, touch your baking supplies? Who are you and what have you done with the real Gumball?”  Gumball rolled his eyes and started getting out the tools and ingredients. 

“Do you want to help or not?” Marshall nodded and floated over the counter.

“Sure, just tell me what to do.”  Gumball handed him a bowl and a whisk.

“Oh, believe me, I will.”

“That sounds kinda-” Marshall was silenced as Gumball pressed a sugar cube into his mouth, a small blush on his cheeks.

“Don’t say what I think you’re going to say.” Marshall grinned.

“What did you think I was going to say, Gum?” Gumball shook his head, turning to pull a recipe sheet out of one of the drawers.

“Okay, first we have to pour the syrup into the pot and-”

  
  


“Ahhhhhh, come on Party Pat!” Fiona complained as she fell to her knees.  “We need you to spin your sick beats!”

“I do not spin beats where there are no vibes worthy of the spin.”  Party Pat replied, taking a sip from her strange orange drink. Fiona groaned and threw her head down against the counter. Cake patted her back and glared at Party Pat.

“How can you call yourself the Party Queen and refuse an invitation to a party?”  Cake shouted over the music. Party Pat stuck her tongue out and shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s bunk, Pat, bunk.” Fiona sighed. Turning her head to stare at Cake, she frowned and slapped the counter a few times.  “What are we going to tell PG?”

“We’ll have to tell him that Party Pat was too much of a dingus to come to his party. She’s not all she’s cracked up to be.” Cake continued rubbing Fiona’s back and raised her voice so people in the party could hear her. Party Pat glanced around at her party bears, who were starting to listen to their conversation.

“Well, I can’t go. But I can send my sister, Party Cat. She can spin some rad beats just as well as I can.” Fiona threw her hands up and cheered.

“Alright! Show us Party Cat and let’s gooooo!” Party Pat stood up and danced her way over to the bear at the dj stand. 

“Yo, Party Cat! These guys need you to start some sick spins at a party with no vibes.” Party Cat looked up. She had a tattoo of a death cupcake with a unicorn horn on her cheek. 

“No vibes?”

“No vibes.” 

“I can work with that. Let’s roll.” Party Cat took the lead and led them out of the monster’s stomach; Cake stretching them down to the ground.

“So, Party Cat,”  Fiona started,  “what’s-” Party Cat held up a hand. 

“Don’t talk to me. Your vibes are off.”  Cake giggled and slapped Fiona on the back. 

“Her vibes have been off ever since Flame Prince dumped her.” Fiona shoved Cake off her, frowning and rubbing her arms.

“Your boyfriend dumped you? So, sad. My parents abandoned me and Pat to a man who used us to make gold. Don’t talk to me about your problems.” Fiona and Cake flinched and looked at each other.

“Geez, Party Pat isn’t this cray-cray,” Fiona whispered. 

“Pat’s trauma has changed her. Don’t diss on my sis.” They held their hands up in defense. The rest of the walk to the Candy Kingdom was silent. 

Gumball and Marshall Lee weren’t in the square when they got back. Fiona and Cake left Party Cat to set up and went to find them. They searched the whole front area of the castle with no luck. Eventually, they made their way to the kitchen.

“Oh, my glob!” Fiona yelled.  “What happened in here?!” Cake gasped as she rounded the corner to see the mess in the kitchen. Powdered sugar-coated almost every available surface in the room. Gumball had syrup dripping from his clothes and hair; chocolate chips melting between his fingers as he prepared to throw them at Marshall. Marshall was covered in eggs and sugar particles; he was holding a bowl over his face. 

“Marshall, what did you do?” Fiona scolded the vampire. Marshall hissed and glared at her.

“What makes you think I started it? Gumball’s the one who threw the flour!” Gumball chucked the chocolate chips at him.

“That was an accident! You’re the one who threw that sugar!” Marshall splashed some water at him; it mixed with syrup in his hair and made it runny. Fiona was sure they were about to rip each other’s throats out. But just before she was about to step in, they started laughing. Gumball swiped the syrup mixture out of his eyes and Marshall lowered his bowl. 

“Huh?” Gumball pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to stop his laughter. Marshall was leaning on the counter, face pressed against the stone, shoulders shaking. 

“Oh, glob,” Gumball muttered as his laughter filtered out.  “How are we going to clean this up?” Marshall’s laughter died out a moment later and he glanced around at the mess, a few more chuckles escaping.

“I have no idea. But we are in deep trouble.” 

“The real question is,” Peppermint maid said as she walked into the room,  “How are we going to get you cleaned up, your majesty? You have to start the party in an hour.” Gumball sighed, trying to flick away some syrup. 

“I’ll clean this up and then go take a shower. Then we can-”

“No.” Peppermint Maid interrupted.  “We’ll take care of this. You two need to clean yourselves up.” A banana guard wandered over to Marshall and took his hand.

“Come with us. We’ll take you to the guest bathroom.” Marshall glanced at Gumball who smiled. 

“When you’re done, come to my room. I have some of your clothes there.” Marshall winked and followed the banana out of the room.

“Woooo, that’s scandalous Gumball!” Cake teased, waggling her eyebrows. Gumball felt his face flush under the syrup and sugar.

“Yeah, Prince Gumball.” Fiona chimed in.  “Why do you have Marshall’s clothes in your room?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Gumball waved his hands in front of him.

“It’s not what you guys are thinking! Marshall and I have been friends for a while. Before we…” He sighed.  “Before I pushed him away, we would hang out all the time. He left them here during a sleepover a long time ago.” Cake stretched over to him and slung her arm around his shoulders. 

“And you never bothered to return them, huh? I get you. I like the way you think.”  Gumball shoved her arm off and took a few steps away.

“It’s not like that!” Peppermint Maid ushered him out of the room. He sighed and made his way to his room. He avoided touching things as much as he could while he made his way into his bathroom. 

The syrup did not want to come out of his hair, close to fusing with his candy body. The sugar fell off pretty quickly, swirling down the drain, never to be seen again. After a few rounds of soap and shampoo, the syrup was finally gone. 

He stepped out of the shower and toweled off, making his way to his room to change into some appropriate clothes. He pulled on his royal clothes and then shuffled through his closet, looking for Marshall’s clothes. He found them a minute or so before the door opened and Marshall stepped in, a towel wrapped around his body. 

“Yo, Bubbs, need my clothes.” Gumball turned around, facing the window, a flush on his face, and pointed to a chair where they were laid out.

“There you go.” Marshall made his way over to them, grinning when he saw them.

“That’s where these have been? Dude! These were my favorites forever ago!” Marshall got dressed, dropping his towel in Gumball’s laundry basket. Gumball turned around at Marshall’s signal only to find him frowning thoughtfully. 

“What?”  Marshall shook his head.

“You’re really going to a party in that?” Gumball looked down at his clothes. It was what he normally wore to his parties and sometimes sleepovers. Marshall was digging through his closet, shoving things to the side.

“I wear this to parties all the time. I don’t really see-” Marshall made an ‘aha’ sound and threw some clothes on his bed. Gumball picked them up while Marshall searched through his shoes. It was a black t-shirt with some blue jeans. Gumball frowned.

“This feels too informal.” Marshall threw his travel boots on the floor next to him. 

“Come on, Bubbs. You brought in the Party Bears, it’s going to get intense. You’ll sweat to death in that.” Gumball shook his head, placing the clothes down and hugging himself. 

“No, I don’t think so.” Marshall wandered over and started tugging on his shirt. Gumball grabbed his arms, trying to get him to stop.

“Marshall, no! I can change myself!” Marshall tugged again, gaining ground. 

“You can. But you won’t. Why even have these clothes if you’re never going to wear them?”  Gumball squeaked when Marshall’s fingers brushed his side.

“Marshall, this is inappropriate.” Marshall laughed and gave another tug.

“Then just hurry up and change.” The door opened and Cake walked through.

“Hey, PG, Fiona needs help with the-”  Her eyes landed on the scene in front of her; Marshall trying to tug off Gumball’s shirt and Gumball holding his arms. She held her paws up to her face, grinning. Gumball felt his face heat up as he shoved Marshall off.

“No, Cake. It’s not what it looks like!” Cake wiggled her eyebrows and Gumball held up an accusatory finger.  “Don’t you dare.” She laughed and ran out of the room. Gumball sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he heard Marshall laugh behind him. He shot him a glare and stalked off to the bathroom to change. 

  
  


“Did you find them?” Fiona asked as Cake returned to the square. She was still trying to set up Party Cat’s stereo system. Cake giggled into her paws. 

“Oh, I found them all right. They seemed a little busy. They’ll be a while.” She giggled again and Fiona frowned at her suspiciously. She opened her mouth to reply but fell off her stool. She rubbed her head and sat up. 

“Cake, you’re speaking Banununununus. What are they doing?”  Cake’s only answer was more chuckling. Fiona sighed and glanced towards the castle. Gumball and Marshall were walking towards the square; Gumball was waving Marshall off and the vampire was laughing. Fiona tapped her nose, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“Oh, boo.” Cake muttered under her breath.

“Hey, Fiona!” Marshall called.  “Cake said you needed help with something?” She stood up and waved.

“Yeah. Party Cat needs help putting these things up.” Marshall nodded and grabbed the equipment from her, floating up to attach it to the buildings. 

“Party Cat?” Gumball questioned, joining the group. Fiona turned to him, tapping her hands together.

“Oh, yeah. Party Pat refused to come, but she sent her sister, Party Cat.” Fiona was prepared for the disappointed look. The one she got when things never went right. Where Gumball’s eyebrows would drop and he would just stare until she realized what was up, a frown slowly falling into place. 

But that didn’t happen.

Gumball just nodded and looked at the food table. The candies that they had tried to make had been cleaned up and presentable. Fiona frowned. 

“You’re not mad?” She asked, digging her foot into the ground.

“No.” GUmball turned back to her.  “Why would I be? You did the best you could with what you had. That’s pretty rad, Fiona.”  Fiona felt her face heat up and she smiled. 

“Oh, t-”

“I got it all set up!” Marshall floated back down. “It’s time to get this party started.” 

  
  


“So, in conclusion,” Gumball finished, throwing his notecards in the air,  “let’s celebrate!” Party Cat started some music and the candy people started dancing some weird candy people line dance. Gumball stood off to the side, chatting with the citizens and congratulating Root Beer Girl again. Marshall sighed, floating over him and sometimes leaning against the wall. Fiona and Cake joined in on the candy dance.

“Gum, you need to turn this party up.” Marshall slumped against his friend. Gumball frowned.

“No, Marshall. The candy people can’t handle it. They’re too sensitive.” Marshall groaned.

“How do you know what they can handle, if you baby them all the time?” Before Gumball could protest, Marshall was whispering to Party Cat. She nodded solemnly and smiled like she had been super bored before. The beat of music changed from a slow, clapping tune, to a deep bass bursting one. Fiona and Cake cheered. The candy people looked around wildly before following Fiona’s lead and dancing along. Gumball exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“See, Bubbs,” Marshall chuckled as he flew back over,  “they’re completely fine.” Gumball stared out over his people, feeling a weight pull him down. Maybe he didn’t know his people as well as he thought he did. They were dancing like they didn’t know dancing existed until that moment. They were smiling and laughing and Fiona was showing them new dance moves. He frowned, squeezing his wrist.

“Hey,” Marshall put his hand on his shoulder,  “dance with me?” Gumball glanced at his people again, his frown deepening. Then he looked at Marshall. He was smiling but it didn’t reach his eyes. Gumball gave him a small smile and took his hand. 

“Yeah, okay. But I only know ballroom dancing so this will be a mess.” Marshall chuckled and pulled Gumball away from the wall. 

“Just follow my lead.” He grabbed both of Gumball’s hands and started stepping from side to side, in time with the beat. Gumball followed, a little off, but quickly getting the hang of it.  “Step one, step to the beat.” Gumball, who had been looking at his feet, looked up with a smile.

“You have steps?” Marshall swung their arms from side to side.

“Oh heck, yeah. And you’ve mastered step one. Step two is a little harder, think you can handle it?” Marshall winked, earning a small laugh from the candy prince. 

“I can handle anything you throw at me.” Marshall started bobbing to the beat, prompting Gumball to follow. It was awkward at first, but Gumball just had to match Marshall’s movements. 

“Step two, add a small bouncy groove.”  Party Cat changed the song and threw Gumball off. Marshall, however, instantly adapted and pulled Gumball along. He eventually found the rhythm again.

“Step three-oof-” Marshall was cut off as Cake backed into him. Fiona bumped into Gumball.

“Y'all dancing over here without us?!” Fiona shouted. Gumball shuffled a little closer to Marshall, uncomfortable with being so close to Fiona when she was being a little crazy. 

“Marshall’s trying to teach me.” Cake wiggled her eyebrows; Gumball chose to ignore her. 

“Anyway,” Marshall cleared his throat,  “step three, throw in some basic moves.” Marshall let go of his hands and started freestyling. Gumball stumbled trying to copy Marshall and somewhat succeeded. Fiona blew a raspberry and yoinked Gumball’s hands, swinging them around. 

“You don’t need silly steps to learn how to dance. Just feel the beat man!” She swung them in circles, making Gumball a little dizzy. 

“Hey, that was step one!” Marshall shouted as Cake dragged him into the little mosh pit the candy people had formed. Gumball watched him go, shoulders tense and eyebrows furrowed. 

“Um, Fiona. I think I did need steps.” Fiona just shook her head and moved her body to the beat. Gumball tried to remember what Marshall had been doing just a few moments ago. He was so awkward.

Marshall struggled out of Cake’s arms and floated above the candy crowd. He glanced around until he saw Gumball still trying to dance. And Fiona, who was undeniably trying to get his attention. Marshall cringed and tried to find a way to help him out. Don’t get him wrong, he loved Fiona. But, she needed to stick to people her own age. 

He caught Party Cat’s eye and gave her a signal. She nodded and switched the song. This one had a harder beat to catch onto. He floated over to Gumball and shouted down to him.

“Hey, Gum!” Gumball glanced up. When he saw Marshall the tension in his body melted and a look of relief swept across his face.  “Step number four- Loosen up! Don’t be so stiff!”  Fiona swung him in a circle again and he lost his balance. Marshall dove down and caught him. Fiona gasped in surprise.

“Sorry, Fi. I’m gonna have to cut in.” He danced Gumball away from her, leading him in an impromptu half-waltz across the square. “I totally saved you.” Gumball sighed, releasing the last of the tension in his body.

“Thanks. I totally owe you.” Party Cat changed the song to a slower one and Gumball took the lead after a few seconds of Marshall fumbling around. He maneuvered them into a waltz position. Marshall felt his face heat up as he clutched Gumball’s hand and shoulder.  “Now I can teach you.”

“Sure.” Marshall shrugged, forcing himself to put on an air of confidence. “But, Bubbs, you gotta tell her that she-”  Gumball nodded, pushing Marshall through the steps.

“I know, I know. I just, don’t want to mess her up, you know? I’ve donked up enough in my life.”  Marshall nodded, finally catching onto the steps. They glided through the square until they ended up back at the food table. They let go of each other to grab some punch. They were thoroughly out of breath, lungs heaving and sweat coating their skin. 

“Yeah, I can understand that; experienced it first hand.” Gumball frowned, his heart heavy. 

“Marshall I-” He was interrupted by Fiona who had yoinked the microphone from Party Cat. 

“Yo, everybody! I just want to say that Root Beer Girl is pretty awesome! I’m so glad you passed the test, my friend! Let’s give it up for Root Beer Girl!”  The crowd started clapping and Gumball sat down his cup to clap along. When the crowd died down, Gumball turned back to Marshall, only to find a note in his place. 

_ The sun will be up soon. Had to get back. -M _

Gumball frowned. He could have at least said goodbye. 

  
  


Gumball leaned against his bedroom door. The sun was just barely glowing on the horizon and he was starting to feel the effects of no sleep. He shrugged off his clothes and didn’t even bother to put on his jam jams. He just crawled into bed and waited for sleep to overtake him.

It didn’t.

He sighed. Not this again. He wrapped his blanket around him and wandered onto the balcony. He glanced up at the fading stars and sighed. 

“I need to apologize to Marshall.” He sat down and leaned against the railing. Maybe he could make him something. Make him something and then apologize. 

Yeah, he could do that.


	4. I Wrote This At 3 a.m.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this chapter. Sorry for taking so long! Just to state, I don't own any characters or songs used in this story unless stated. I'm all about the fluff! Shoutout to my beta readers! Thank you guys so much! And thanks to you for reading!

Gumball stared into the night, trying to find some kind of moving shadow, and hoping the one he found would be the one he was looking for. It had been three nights, with no sign of his companion. He sighed, folded his arms, and leaned against the railing, ignoring the chill. The night crept on with no sign of the vampire. Where was he? 

He looked up at the stars, tracing the outline of constellations. He had looked up a few new ones, hoping to show Marshall. It neared midnight and he still hadn’t shown up. Gumball had really jacked up. And it wasn’t just at the party. It was years ago when he had first pushed Marshall away. It was his biggest regret. 

He pushed out a long breath and slid down the railing, hugging his legs and putting his head between them. He really thought he and Marshall could just go back to the way they were. But, it was his fault they had drifted apart in the first place. He owed Marshall an apology, a big one. Now he just needed the chance to give it. But, Marshall hasn’t shown up to give him that chance. 

“Sorry, your majesty.” Butterscotch Butler said as she wandered onto the balcony. “But, I just finished reading your diary-” Gumball snatched it from her and hugged it to his chest. “And I think you should go see Marshall Lee. There’s nothing stopping you from making the visit yourself.” Gumball thought about it, fidgeting with the corner of his diary. 

“You’re right, BSB. You’re absolutely right. Marshall didn’t start this mess. So, he shouldn’t be the one to take the first step in fixing it. Even though he already has.” Gumball took a deep breath, standing up and glancing out over the plains. He wandered back into his room to grab the basket of red candies he had made the night before. Then he put on his black cardigan because it was cold and made his way back to the balcony. 

“Thank you, Butterscotch Butler. If Peppermint Maid asks-” The candy waved him off.

“Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you. Just don’t die on your way back.” He nodded and whistled for the bird. The bird was there within a minute; Gumball climbed on and sucked in a mouthful of air. He held on tight and glanced around at his surroundings as they flew to Marshall’s cave. It really was pretty in the air, but the bird bobbed and he was back to staring at the bird’s head, fingers grasping a little too hard at the feathers.

They passed by a waterfall and spring on their way. It looked like a place he and Marshall had visited years ago. He could only remember bits and pieces, but the waterfall stuck out the most. Marshall insisted that he could survive a fall from that height. Gumball had shoved him and he pretended to fall, but floated over the edge and laughed. Until Gumball jumped off and dragged him down with him into the depths of the pool. Marshall had flung water at him after and refused to go back there for months.

It was about 1:30 when he finally reached Marshall’s cave. He waved to the bird as it flew off to do whatever it is magic birds do early in the morning and turned toward the cave. 

But he didn’t go in.

He was scared.

What if he skronked up his apology and made Marshall mad? What if Marshall didn’t even want to hear his apology? What if Marshall wasn’t even home and he was standing out here like an idiot?

Glob, why was apologizing so hard?

“How long are you going to pace outside?” Gumball screamed. Marshall was leaning against the entrance to the cave. They stared at each other for a while, neither saying anything. Marshall cleared his throat.

“Oh, right. I, uh….brought these for you.” He held out the basket and Marshall glanced at it, not moving to take it from him. Gumball sighed and stepped closer, holding the basket out again.  “They’re not poisoned, I promise.” Marshall inhaled deeply.

“You promise, huh? I wonder what that’s worth.”  Marshall reached for the basket and inspected the candy. Gumball felt his heart drop. Oh, Pleb, he should have apologized sooner. Marshall picked one up and stuck it in his mouth.

“Marshall Lee,” the vampire looked up,  “I owe you an apology. I’ve been a huge dingwad to you for years and you don’t deserve that. I just got so worried about the kingdom and the people and I wanted to focus on work, so I pushed you away. And, I shouldn’t have. But, that’s no excuse for how I hurt you. I’m sorry.” Marshall felt a small smile creep onto his face.  “And, these past two weeks have really made me realize just how much I miss you.” Gumball looked away from Marshall, not having the strength to maintain eye contact anymore. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for Marshall’s reply. He rubbed his wrist and focused on the blades of grass that stood as still as the conversation. Marshall let out a soundless half-laugh and stepped away from the wall.

“Apology accepted.” Gumball smiled and gazed up at Marshall.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, really. Friends?”  Marshall set the basket down and held out his arms. Gumball sighed in relief and stepped into the hug, making sure to show Marshall how sorry he was by squeezing his guts out. Marshall returned the squeeze and Gumball felt himself relax. 

“Thank you,” Marshall said as they stepped back.  “Would you like to come in? I have some board games we could play.” Gumball let out another relieved sigh and smile.

“Yeah, that’d be really fun.” Marshall picked up the basket and motioned for Gumball to follow him inside. They would be okay.

  
  


The lab wasn’t that messy this time around. There were tons of papers scattered on the counters and some had drifted onto the floor. But there weren’t as many tools laying around and no spots of plant spit. 

The slide under the microscope was shifting, unfocused. Gumball adjusted the wheels on the side and it still wouldn’t work. He sighed and backed away, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. 

“Boo.” Gumball screamed and swung his fist in the direction of the sound. Marshall Lee caught his hand just before it smacked into his face.

“Oh, Gob!” Marshall laughed.  “This is too easy!” Gumball yanked his hand back.

“Marshall, you son of a toot, what are you doing here so early in the day?” Marshall frowned and floated over to sit on the only bare spot on the counter. 

“Gum, it’s ten-thirty. At night.”  Gumball frowned and checked his watch.

“Oh. I didn’t realize.” Gumball sighed and turned back to the microscope. When he peered inside, it was still unfocused.  “Maybe that’s why everything is so blurry.” He rubbed his forehead and took his safety glasses off, setting them on the counter. Marshall picked up one of the papers but set it back down after a few seconds; he couldn’t understand a word it said. 

“Are you still working on that plant thing? The one that spits at you?” Gumball nodded and pointed to a terrarium in the corner of the room, next to Science’s cage. 

“Yeah. I took your advice and put it in a happier environment. It’s doing better now.”  Marshall floated over the cage and saw that he had planted it in some nice nutrient-rich dirt and given it some friends and a few flowers. 

“Well, it does look better. Found out what you needed yet?” Gumball shook his head and started gathering his papers together. 

“No. This plant has high regenerative abilities. Those abilities rest in the plant’s xylem and I can’t seem to separate it from the mother cell. The candy people are abiogenesis creatures that I made through an anabolism procedure.”  Marshall leaned forward in the air, stretching his body out like he was laying on the floor and rested his chin on his palms and stared at Gumball with a big smile.  “Now I have to use biosynthesis to cause small microevolution in their DNA structure so they can….” Gumball made eye contact with Marshall and trailed off. Marshall just continued to grin. “You didn’t understand anything I just said.”

“Not a word.” Marshall drawled sweetly. Gumball sighed and linked his hands together, placing his pointer fingers against his bottom lip. He hummed as he tried to translate in his brain.

“The abilities are in the plant's water and food supply but they're only in one cell. The candy citizens are people I created from nonliving matter that I made from organic materials and mashed them all together. Once I separate that one cell and clone it, I’ll have to give the candy citizens regular shots so to say until their bodies change to use that ability themselves.” Gumball raised his eyebrows and glanced at Marshall to see if he was following. Marshall was nodding and tapping his finger against his forearm.

“Okay, so you’re basically going to have to give them daily medicine until they gain that plant's abilities. But you can’t do that until you find out how to get that ability from the plants?” Gumball smiled.

“Monthly medicine. But yes. That’s basically it. You’re so smart.” He ruffled Marshall’s hair and the vampire jokingly pushed him away. The two laughed and Gumball went back to picking up his papers.

“So, are you ready for a break? You look like you could use one.”  Gumball stacked his papers in the corner and then leaned against the counter, resting his elbows on the cool tile.

“And where do you suppose we go?” Marshall hummed and sat down on the counter. 

“Well, we can’t go to my place. Fiona and Cake are stalking a giant spider monster that made its home in there without me noticing. I was actually hoping to stay here?” Gumball grinned and stood up.

“Never thought I’d see the day when you actually needed me.” Marshall frowned and swung his leg over the counter, so he was facing Gumball.

“But, I’ve always needed you, Bubbs. You’re my best friend. What would I do without you?” Gumball’s face was on fire; he shrugged his lab coat off and hung it on the rack to keep his hands busy.

“We could make some cupcakes or something? Assuming we don’t throw ingredients at each other again.” Marshall relished in the fact that he had embarrassed Gumball, so he let him brush the subject off. 

“Yeah okay. I could go for some cup-cups. Can we use red frosting?” Gumball closed the door after shutting the lights off. 

“Of course we can use red frosting.”  They made their way to the kitchen silently in the dark, careful not to wake the staff. They were just one hall over from the kitchen when Gumball pulled Marshall back against the wall.

“What-”

“Shushers.” It was then Marshall heard the footsteps. Peppermint Maid walked down the hall and right past them. Gumball exhaled in relief.

“Don’t make a mess this time, your majesty.”  Gumball squeaked and pressed back against the wall.  “And please try to get to bed at a reasonable time.” Marshall let out a quiet chuckle as Gumball led them into the kitchen, locking the door behind him. Gumball sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I didn’t know you had a babysitter, your majesty.” Marshall taunted, drawing out the last syllable. Gumball frowned and stepped over to the sink to watch his hands. 

“She’s not my babysitter.” He muttered. He dried his hands while Marshall washed his and then stepped over to the cabinets.  “Can you grab the milk, butter, and three eggs out of the fridge, please.” 

“Look at you, being all polite.” Marshall poked his cheek as he floated over to the fridge and grabbed the ingredients he needed. Gumball pulled out the flour, sugar, and baking powder. They mixed them in the bowl and poured it into the pan. 

A knock sounded at the door just as they slid it into the oven. Gumball slid the locks open and pulled on the door. Butterscotch Butler Walked in with a bucket. Inside were a bunch of candy pieces. 

“The Pup Gang pushed poor old Mr. Pinwheel and his kids off the roof. This is what we could find of them, but you’re going to have to fix them.” Gumball took the bucket and thanked her.

“Could you watch the cake for me? And when it’s done bring it and the red frosting down to my lab please?” Butterscotch Butler bowed and strode past him into the kitchen, sitting in front of the oven. 

“This cake isn’t going anywhere.” Gumball decided not to correct her and dragged Marshall out of the kitchen and down the hall.

“This isn’t the way to your lab,” Marshall commented as Gumball reached for a door in the roof and pulled the attic ladder down.

“We have to make a quick stop first. I left most of the candy people recipes up here. It’s been a while since I’ve had to use most of them.” Gumball climbed the ladder, set the bucket down near the opening in the floor, and pulled himself into the room. Marshall floated behind and gaped at the room.

“You have a lot of shit in here, Bubbs.” There were tons of boxes and bags propped up against each other. A few pathways were left clear but they were stacked almost to the ceiling.

“This is where I keep things that are useful, but not at the moment.” Marshall picked up a decoration piece that was designed to be a bunch of strange creatures sitting around a white table.

“This is useful?” Gumball shakily smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He proceeded to walk further into the mess. Marshall glanced at all the boxes with weird labels. ‘Don’t Touch,  _ Ever. _ ’ ‘Gifts for People I Don’t Like.’ ‘Bombs.’  “What are we looking for exactly?”

“A box that says ‘Candy Peeps Recipes.’ It should be down this way somewhere.” They passed by a few more paths and a lot more boxes. This attic could not be this big. Marshall accidentally bumped into a box when they turned the corner. He caught it just before it could hit the ground and alert Gumball. ‘Family Bleep Documents.’ Marshall grinned. That was blackmail material right there. Gumball made an ‘aha’ sound and kneeled next to a box somewhere down the path.

Marshall dug through the box, pushing aside baby photos and other pictures. He eventually found a document bordered in gold with bold cursive letters on it. He grinned and pulled out his mobile phone. He sent a low-quality photo to Fiona. He took the document and put the box back on the shelf.

Gumball grumbled as he shuffled through the box, looking for the formula for pinwheel candies. It wasn’t in alphabetical order anymore and it was driving him mad. He felt a weight press against his back as Marshall leaned against him, looming over his shoulder. 

“On your knees, huh?” Gumball frowned up at Marshall who was grinning like a maniac and holding a familiar paper.  “Fitting for someone named Blowpop.” Gumball’s eyes widened and his heart lodged in his throat. He reached for the paper only to have Marshall hold it just out of reach.

“No. No. No. Marshall, where did you find that?”  He sprang to his feet and tried to grab the paper, standing on his tip-toes when Marshall started to float.

“In one of your many boxes. It-” Gumball tackled him, banging his chin harshly against his shoulder. Marshall tried to wiggle away and Gumball pinned his wrists down. But now he couldn’t reach the paper. He let out a small frustrated noise and started thinking of a way to get out of this and get the paperback from Marshall.

“So,” Marshall drawled after a moment,  “how many licks does it take to get to your center?” Gumball groaned and hung his head. Marshall almost choked on his laughter. 

“This is why that’s up here.” Gumball tried to use his pointer finger to grab the paper, but he didn’t get very far. It didn’t stretch too far.

“So that’s your real name?” Gumball sighed, giving up his efforts for the moment.

“No. My cousin made it as a joke. I locked it up here so no one made that mistake.” Marshall just laughed again. Gumball noticed just how close they were and pushed himself up onto his knees, grabbing the paper while Marshall was distracted.

“I’m using that nickname forever now.”  Gumball looked him dead in the eye and ripped the paper up. He honestly should have done that forever ago. He threw the paper into a random box and ran his hand through his hair. 

“I’m so happy you’re on your knees for me, Blowpop.” Gumball shoved Marshall back and stood up to go back to check the box of recipes. 

“Finally.” He muttered as he pulled out the Pinwheel paper and promptly made his way out of the attic, not caring if Marshall was following or not. 

“Time to blow this pop stand!” Gumball slammed the attic door shut and stomped to his lab.

  
  


It took Marshall ten minutes to catch up and he was laughing when he did. Gumball chose to ignore him, focusing on the formula and combining it with the leftover pieces. Marshall giggled occasionally, no doubt thinking of another dirty joke. 

“So, are-”

“If it’s another joke, I don’t want to hear it.” Marshall chuckled.

“No. It’s about your science thing. I thought I could figure it out by watching, but I am so lost. Are you making new ones or fixing the old ones?” Marshall leaned against the counter next to him, hovering over a few papers. Gumball dropped a purple liquid onto the candy piece and stuck it to another one like a puzzle.

“There aren’t enough pieces here to fix them completely, so I have to give them a growth formula mixed with their original DNA and add that to their old bodies. It will cement them together and fix them by growing from their original pieces.”  Marshall nodded, glancing at the plant in the corner, which was laughing at them.

“Can’t you do that with your plant thing to give them that regenerative thing?” Gumball shook his head, dropping more liquid onto the pieces of colored peppermint.

“No, because that would require a….” His eyes grew wide and he spun around, clutching at Marshall’s biceps.  “Marshall Lee you brilliant vampire you!” He pressed a harsh kiss to his forehead and dashed off to scribble something on a different stack of notes. Marshall’s face burned and he gently touched his forehead, heart thudding in his chest. 

“If I could just get the entire cell out of the DNA I can clone that and combine it with the growth serum to create a sort of vaccine!”  Marshall glared at the plant who was pointing to him and laughing so hard it was wheezing. “It already creates more dead cells from a mother cell, so this would give it the same effect the plant has on living cells! Marshall, you’re a genius!” He finished his notes and then ran back over to finish fixing the candy people. Marshall watched with a small smile.

The door opened and Butterscotch Butler walked in with a tray of cupcakes, perfectly frosted. She sat them down on empty counter space. Gumball grinned and swept her into his arms.

“B.B, Marshall is a genius! You’re a genius!” He swung her around a few times before setting her down.  “I figured it out! Thank you for the cupcakes!”  Then he was back to putting the candy people together. It took him a solid fifteen minutes to finish and Butterscotch Butler was leading them out of the castle. 

“Hey, I’ve kind of drank all the red out of these cupcakes,” Marshall said as Gumball clipped a leaf off the plant, after giving it a snack. 

“Oh, I forgot those were there. Can you pass me one?” He took the leaf and slid it under the microscope.

“There’s no color.” Gumball shrugged, adjusting the wheels as Marshall picked one up.

“It doesn’t have to have colour to taste good.” Marshall placed it in his waiting hand and Gumball shoved the whole thing in his mouth and went back to his microscope. 

“Wow, a whole cupcake? Impressive, those talents could be put to better use, Blowpop-”  Gumball whipped around and caged Marshall against the opposite counter.

“Marshall, I swear to Glob, if you don’t stop I’ll gag you and tie you to a chair.” Marshall felt heat crawl back up his face and he shrunk back against the counter. He forced a grin onto his face, trying to keep his composure.

“That’s pretty kinky, Bubbs.” Gumball slapped a piece of tape over his mouth and returned to his microscope. Marshall struggled to pry the tape off; whatever kind of tape it was, was strong. Gumball used a syringe to extract a few bits of plant and squeezed them into his serum. Then he added a few more colorful liquids to the vial and stuck it under the heat lamp. Marshall was just getting the tape off when Gumball started cleaning up.

“That was pretty rude.” He threw the tape in the trash and grabbed another cupcake. He watched as Gumball arranged his tools onto a tray. 

“You were distracting. Anyway, now that my responsibilities are taken care of, what do you-” Gumball tripped on his way to the cabinets and Marshall darted his hand out just in time to catch the tray. Gumball exhaled in relief and thanked him.

“Maybe we should get you to bed. It is three a.m.” Gumball glanced down at his watch and sighed. He glanced at Marshall and then at the one window in his lab.

“We’ll need to block out the windows in my room first.” Marshall raised an eyebrow and helped put the tray away.  “You are staying here right?”

“Oh! Right, spider infestation. Fiona and Cake tearing up my house.” They finished cleaning the lab and then stumbled up the stairs to Gumball’s room. Well, the prince stumbled and Marshall floated behind him. They pulled the curtains shut and sat the trees on the ends so they wouldn’t move. He closed the doors to his balcony and hung a black sheet over the doors.

“I think that’s everything.”  Marshall glanced about the room and nodded his approval.

“Yeah, I’ll just sleep on the floor by your bed and we should be-”

“The floor?” Gumball frowned. Marshall glanced back at him with a half-grin.

“Did you want me to sleep with you, Blowpop?” Gumball felt a rush of heat ignite in his cheeks.

“Not like that you idiot! I just don’t see why you should have to sleep on the floor when my bed is huge! Plus it has blankets!” Marshall burst out into laughter. 

“Last I checked, I was a genius.” Gumball chucked a pillow at him.  “Okay, calm down. I didn’t mean to rile you up that much. I’ll sleep in your bed if that’s what you want.” Gumball huffed and turned the lights off. He and Marshall climbed into his bed and went to sleep.

Or at least Gumball tried.

It wasn’t working. And frankly, this exhausted insomnia needed to stop. He needed to fix his sleep schedule. Or drink tea? Yeah, tea sounded great.

“Don’t get up. It won’t help you.” Gumball glanced over to the vampire at his side.  “You’re too wound up. You need to relax.”

“How do I do that?” Marshall smiled and turned onto his side.

“Start by relaxing your muscles one by one. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for three and exhale it for four. Relax another muscle. Then repeat.” Gumball frowned, focusing on the instructions. He wiggled his toes and tried to relax.

“It’s not working.” He huffed.

“You’re trying too hard. Just focus on counting your breaths.” Gumball took a deep breath and then tried again. It was easier this time, but he still wasn’t sleepy. Marshall frowned. He did this a few weeks ago too. At the river, he was so at peace, and just drifted off. An idea popped into Marshall’s head. It was worth a shot. 

Gumball opened his eyes when Marshall cleared his throat. 

“Let's go in the garden; you'll find something waiting, right there where you left it, lying upside down.” Marshall sang, voice low and methodic. Gumball smiled and closed his eyes, focusing on Marshall’s voice and his breathing. 

“When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded. The underside is lighter when you turn it around.” Gumball had completely sunk into his bed, resting his hands on his stomach. Marshall smiled, continuing his tune in his low voice. 

“Everything stays right where you left it. Everything stays but it still changes, ever so slightly; daily and nightly in little ways.” Gumball drifted off, the world becoming only Marshall’s voice and the colorful void of his dreams.


	5. Oops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance. Actually, no. I don't. Enjoy!

A few weeks later, Gumball was frantically running all over the castle trying to make things look presentable. He was hosting this year's Prince Meeting and the castle had to look spotlessly decorated or the others would judge the flip out of him. Fiona was helping the servants decorate while Gumball was running himself thin between the kitchens, the entrance hall, and the reception hall. 

He hung a decoration here, baked a new batch of food there, set placements here, and wrote notecards for his speech in between here and there. He only had about three hours left and they were only halfway done. 

“What’s going on here? A party?” Marshall floated in through the window, umbrella protecting his face and obscene yellow gloves covering his arms. 

“I told you last night. You weren’t listening.” Gumball finished hanging the banner for the Slime Kingdom and climbed back down his ladder.  “You were too busy scaring that poor old person half to death.”  Marshall scoffed and floated behind Gumball as he marched back to the kitchen. 

“I do that every month. It’s their fault they forget.” Gumball glared and shoved oven mitts on his hand. He slapped Marshall’s hand as he reached for a muffin.

“Don’t. I need that for the meeting.” Marshall glanced around at the counters that were covered with hundreds of muffins that looked identical. 

“How many muffins do you need?” Gumball pulled the muffins out the pan and set them to cool before putting new wrappers in.

“You’d be surprised how many muffins the Princes eat if you’d ever stick around for the meetings.” Marshall snapped his fingers and beamed. Gumball poured more batter into the cups.

“Oh! You did mention it last night. It’s the annual meeting.” Gumball rolled his eyes and put the muffins into the oven, took off the mitts, and then strode out of the kitchen. Marshall followed.

“What’s the topic this year? Trade again? Petty rivalries that close up borders? How-”

“Peppermint Maid! Can you fetch the rest of the banners for me to hang while I run to make sure the entrance hall is finished?” The candy nodded and took Cake with her. Marshall frowned. 

“You need to relax, Gum. The others-” Gumball whirled and marched down a different hall, steps a quick staccato bouncing off the walls. 

“I can’t relax Marshall. I told you that I should have been working last night. But against my better judgment, I went out with you. Now, I have to rush to make sure things get done. But it’s fine as long as I stick to the schedule I made.” Marshall almost got left behind, trying to sneak a muffin from a tray that a candy person was holding. 

“But you can work without stressing yourself out. This is why-”

“Butterscotch Butler! Good work on the entrance! It looks great! They could use your help in the meeting hall now. Thank you!” Marshall sighed. Gumball was off again, almost sprinting to another part of the castle. Marshall sighed and floated back to where he last saw Fiona. 

She wasn’t there, but he had a fun time messing with the candy people who were trying to finish putting up the last of the decorations. He took their tape and tacked it to the wall just out of their reach. Or he hid the decoration they sat down to help someone else. At one point he switched everyone’s baskets around so they all had the wrong decorations. And he definitely took a muffin or two. 

“Marshall!”  Gumball yelled as he stomped into the room, a timid candy person trailing behind him.  “Are you kidding me? What the bjork is wrong with you!?” Marshall frowned, pausing his action of tying shoelaces together. 

“Excuse me, your highness?”  He jeered, floating right side up and crossing his arms.  “I wasn’t aware something was wrong.”

“You can obviously see that we’re trying to get stuff done here! Why can’t you be helpful instead of tormenting everyone and halting progress?” Marshal furrowed his eyebrows as Gumball stepped just on the edge of his personal bubble and gestured angrily towards him. He shrugged and leaned on his right foot, trying to appear casual and not put off by Gumball’s attitude.

“I’m just trying to loosen everyone up. You’re all so uptight around here. It’s just a silly meeting.” Gumball was strangling the inanimate clipboard in his hands, his teeth clenched.

“Marshall,” he spoke slowly, digging his heels into the floor,  “this is very important for kingdom relations. We need to keep the peace and this is one way to assure that. Can you please stop being such a jerkwad?” Marshall rocked on his feet, running his tongue along his teeth, and making a popping sound.

“I’m the jerkwad? Who’s yelling right now?” Gumball pushed out a heavy breath of air.

“I’m not yelling. I’m just trying to make you understand that you can’t just come in here and ruin wh-” Marshall scoffed.

“Calm down, Gum. They’re just harmless pranks. You need to relax!”

“Stop!” Gumball shouted, throwing his clipboard on the ground and startling the candy people nearby, making them flee the room. Marshall flinched back.  “Stop telling me that every time you see me! I have responsibilities, Marshall Lee! It can’t always be fun and games! Why can’t you see that?” The vampire felt his blood boil. His nails dug into the flesh of his palms, almost deep enough to cut.

“Are you serious right now? You don’t have to get so angry over-”

“I have a right to be angry! You’re ruining-”

“Nothing is ruined! Your stupid party is fine-”

“It’s not a party. Just because you treat it like one every year doesn’t-”

“I do not treat it like a party every year, Gumwad-”

“Yes! Yes, you do! I have never seen you stay one time-”

“250 years ago when the Wildberry Kingdom threatened to go to war with you-”

“ So you haven’t stayed for one in 249 years! That looks pretty-”

“I don’t care what it looks like! Why does it matter any-”

“Because you have responsibilities! Duties to your kingdom!”

“I don’t have a kingdom! My mom could very well come to these herself-”

“Globbit, Marshall! Why are you like this!?” Fiona had heard the commotion from down the hall and ran in to see what was going on.

“What’s wrong with the way I am? You seemed to think I was fine last night!”

“You were threatening people last night-”

“I was not! I drain their ties every month! If you weren’t such a stick in the mud-”

“Me?! If you weren’t such a dingwad-”

“If you could just learn to relax-”

“If you could find a sense of responsibility-”

“If you could just stay calm for five seconds-”

“Um, guys?” Fiona stepped forward a bit, holding up her hands to show she meant no harm and to hopefully deescalate what was going on.  “Can we all just take a deep breath and-”

“No, Fiona!” Gumball whirled in her.  “You don’t get to play the hero here!”  Marshall yanked Gumball’s arm to prevent him from taking a step towards the young girl.

“Don’t yell at Fiona! She didn’t do anything wrong! She’s been helping you, ya turd!” Gumball tore his arm from the vampire’s grip.

“Why don’t you just leave!”

“Last I checked I was invited!”

“You don’t care anyway just leave and stop being a menace!”

“I wasn’t even doing anything bad! You’re the one freaking out!”

“Oh my Glob, this is why I pushed you away in the first place! You can’t think past your own selfish interests to care about anyone else for one second. It’s no wonder all your friends forget about you!” Fiona gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Marshall’s eyes widened and he felt tears crawling their way to his eyes. Gumball inhaled sharply and took a step back, lungs heaving and face burning from anger and shame.

“Marshall,” His voice wavered,  “I’m sorry I didn’t-” He reached out and Marshall took several steps back.

“That,” Marshall grabbed his umbrella,  “hurt,” and started flying towards the window.

“Wait! No, Marshall! I’m so sorry!” Gumball tried running after him.  “Come back, Marshall!” He hit the wall and Marshall flew out the window without glancing back. Gumball threw his fist against the wall and tried to suppress the sobs he felt suffocating his throat. Fiona cleared her throat and stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” She whispered gently. Gumball shook his head and turned to slam his back against the wall, sliding down and hoping to be small enough he could disappear.

“No. I’m sorry for yelling at you.” He took a few shuddering breaths.  “Marshall was right. You’ve been a wonderful help today and I had no right to yell at you like that.” Fiona quirked her lips and sat down next to the prince.

“It’s okay.” She tapped her hands against her knees for a moment before speaking again.  “I think Marshall needs your apology more than I do.” Gumball sighed and covered his eyes with his hands. He let out a small groan and leaned against his knees.

“I know. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I just-” He took another deep breath and wrapped his arms around his legs.  “I just wanted him to understand that this was- is important.” He pressed his cheek against his knee and gazed helplessly at the young hero next too him.

“I always fudge it up with him. I’m such a bad person.” Fiona shook her head and rubbed his shoulder.

“No, you just make mistakes. We all do. Heck, I’m fourteen. I make them all the time. What’s important is that we learn from them. I messed up bad with Flame Prince. I made him feel terrible and I abused his trust. It’s taken me a long time to make up for that mistake. But we’re friends again. I couldn’t have done that without realizing how I needed to better myself and learn what I did wrong so that I never did it again. I had to realize that we couldn’t just forget it had happened. I had messed up and I had to earn his trust again. And do you know what the first step was?” Gumball sighed and shook his head. Fiona let out a small, genuine smile.

“I had to apologize and mean it, and even then it still took a lot of work and change on my part. I’m not saying that the blame is entirely yours. Because it looks like Marshall was being a toot. But, maybe he’ll apologize too?”  Gumball took a deep breath and straightened his back.

“You’re right Fiona.” He smiled and gave her a hug.  “How did you get to be so smart?” He ruffled her hair and she pushed him away, laughing.

“I made a mistake and learned. And I’m about to make another one.” She stood up and stretched her back.

“What are you going to do?” He asked warily as he stood with her.

“I’m about to go eat some of the muffins you made.” And she took off running before Gumball could even process what she had said. He smiled and shook his head. She more than deserved a muffin. He sighed and glanced at the window Marshall had left through. Unfortunately, his apology would have to wait until after the meeting that was scheduled to start in thirty minutes. He wiped his eyes, fixed his clothes and posture, and proceeded to go finish the meeting hall decor.

  
  


The sting of the sun would sure feel a hell of a lot better than his insides right now. 

Marshall was sitting against the trunk of a tree, his umbrella propped up to protect what the shade didn’t shield. He could still picture the rage in Gumball’s eyes as he spit fire at him. And the immense sadness that fell over them after the flames had extinguished. 

_ You can’t think past your own selfish interests to care about anyone else for one second. _

That wasn’t true. What had he been doing for the past month and a half? He had been trying to show Gumball there was more to life than work.

No.

He supposed that was in his own interests as well. He had been so alone and deeply missed the companionship of his friend and his nighttime visits were so he could try and reconnect. Even though he had made it perfectly clear to leave him alone.

_ And, these past two weeks have really made me realize just how much I miss you. _

And it really had seemed like he missed him. He was so willing to go on their little adventures and spend time with him. Marshall had been sure that after the dance party, Gumball wouldn’t speak to him for another few years. But he had come to him, with candies and an apology. He had wanted to hang out with him.

_ It’s no wonder all your friends forget about you! _

Would he forget about him too now? Join the thousands of others who had pushed him out or forgotten his existence altogether. Marshall sighed and chucked a candy corn at another nearby tree. The creatures in the candy forest had long since run off, scared by all his candy throwing. 

“Stupid Gumball and his stupid responsibilities.” He huffed and threw another candy.  “Stupid words.” 

“Ow, Hey!”  He heard a small feminine voice shriek. He had accidentally hit Fiona with the last corn he had thrown.

“Oops. Sorry, Fiona.” He apologized half-heartedly. Fiona shrugged and sat down next to him.

“It’s okay. You didn’t go very far.” Marshall chucked another candy corn and didn’t reply. Fiona shrugged and pulled out her coloring book. Marshall grabbed her red crayon and sucked the color out of it. Fiona frowned and turned to a page that didn’t require that color. They sat like that, silent coloring and sad corn throwing, for a while. Fiona just silently offered her companionship. 

“I didn’t mean to ruin his party.” Marshall murmured after about an hour or so. 

“I know,” Fiona whispered back.

“I just-” He sucked the orange out of one of the candies, “got bored. And he was so busy and high strung. And I just...” Marshall sighed, letting his words drop off. Fiona pulled another package of crayons from her bag, this one was only red ones. She handed one to Marshall. 

“You wanted his attention?” Fiona smiled knowingly as he took it. He didn’t respond.  “I know how that feels. You meet someone who makes your heart flutter and you want to please them in any way possible. So you try your best to do anything to make them smile, even at your own expense. And you want every second of their attention and when you don’t get it you get-”

“I do not have some little crush on Gumwad.” Marshall threw another candy corn, but it was a half-hearted throw. Fiona let out a tiny giggle. 

“Are you sure about that? You sound like Cake talking about Lord Monochromicorn. You’re always hanging out with him now and you always try to make him smile.” Marshall opened his mouth to protest, but then he thought about it. His eyes grew wide and he threw an arm over his eyes.

“I have a crush on the candy prince.” Fiona patted his thigh and handed him another crayon.

“Me too.” Marshall glanced at her from the corner of his eye.  “But, it’s not as big as it once was. You, however, have it bad.” Marshall groaned and shrunk into his bat form, crawling under his umbrella to hide from Fiona’s stare. 

“Fiooonnaaa! I like him.” Marshall whined and flopped over onto his back, squishing his little bat wings.  “And I just royally donked it up. He probably hates me and it will be a few centuries at least before he talks to me again.”

“Hey!” Fiona slid to her knees and poked him in the tummy.  “Don’t think like that. I’m sure he feels just as bad, saying what he did.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” Marshall groaned again and swatted her hand away. She gave a nervous chuckle. 

“Oops. Hey,” she whispered softly, “do you know what makes me feel better when I’m feeling like bad biscuits?” Marshall poked his nose out from under his tiny arm.

“What?” Fiona grinned and pulled out her sword. 

“A dungeon.” Marshall rolled the thought around in his head.

“Yeah, okay. I can smash some things.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”  Marshall returned to his normal form and grabbed his umbrella. Fiona dashed into the forest and Marshall wasn’t far behind. 

  
  


Marshall swung the sword he had gathered from the arms of a dead skeleton in a half-hearted semi-circle. Fiona hung upside down from the cave ceiling giggling and trying to untie the trap she had stepped into.

“So, Marshall,” She drawled, swinging from side to side,  “what do you like most about PG?” She stretched her fingers out, reaching for a sword buried in the nearby wall. Marshall sighed and wandered over to the sword. He pulled it out and held it within reach for her. She swung over and took it from his grasp.

“What do you like most about him?” She cut the rope and crashed to the floor, rolling to avoid breaking bones.

“I asked you first but okay. I like that he’s really smart and pretty. He always has a solution for everything and tries his best to make sure all his citizens are taken care of. No one is a lost cause for him. He’s like a hero.” She picked up the key they had found and unlocked the next door. On the other side were a bunch of goo monsters. The two shared a look and charged right in. Fiona with her sword and Marshall with his fists. 

“He’s a lot of fun to pick on.” Marshall huffed as he punched a monster in the face, sending it into the stream running along the edge of the room.  “But he’s also fun to hang out with. He has a lot of ideas and he’s a great listener.” Fiona chopped one in half and then threw her sword into one that was creeping up behind Marshall. He sent her a thumbs up and kicked the last one toward her. She let out a victory cry and stabbed it in the gut. It exploded and covered them in goo. They high-fived and started looking for the next key.

“But, I think most of all, he treats me like I’m something more than a trouble-maker. He makes me feel like I  _ can _ be more than that.”  Marshall gave a huge sigh and leaned against the wall. “And I just disappointed him. It seems like that’s all I can do.” 

“Hey, don’t think like that.” Fiona stuck her hand into the stream and started feeling around the bottom.  “I’m sure he doesn’t see you as a disappointment. You two are like best friends. Aha!” She pulled a key out of the water and grinned. 

“Thanks, Fiona. Can we change the subject though?” Her smile grew and she started backing toward the door they had come through.

“Race you back to the beginning?” And she took off. Marshall charged after her, putting all his thoughts and energy into running. His feet pounded and his heart hammered. It felt good.

When he got there, Fiona was out of breath and laughing as she tried to unlock the chest. But her hands were shaking too much.

“I can’t believe I won that race! You’re a vampire!” Marshall just collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving and vision swimming. 

“I haven’t run that fast in centuries.” He inhaled deeply and gestured to the huge chest. “Does the key fit?” Fiona took a moment to stop her laughing and then slid the key into the lock. It popped open and the lid opened to reveal a set of stairs leading down into the dark.

“Woah, that’s cool.” She whispered as Marshall crawled off the floor.

“We’re going down there, right?” He asked as he peered down.

“Oh, absolutely.” Fiona hopped over the edge and ran down the stairs, Marshall following. It was so dark down there that he lost sight of her. He could only see a few feet in front of him. The stairs opened into a vast room that was just as dark as the stairs. 

“Fiona?” There was no response.  “Did you find the treasure?” He started walking forward. A whisper threaded through the dark, it was heavy and familiar. Marshall frowned and followed the voice, trying to hear what it had to say. The room didn’t end. Marshall walked and walked and it seemed like he was getting nowhere. But the voice was getting louder.

“Marshall?” That was Fiona’s voice.  “I think I know what’s going on. Just cover your ears and walk towards the center of the room.”

Marshall ignored her. He’d lived for a thousand years. He could handle whatever this was. He was finally catching up to the mysterious voice.

“...disappointment. Can’t believe I even talk to you...” Well, that’s pretty rude. Marshall recognized the voice now. It was Gumball’s. But that was impossible, he was at that meeting. 

“Bubbs? Is that you?”

“...a screw-up that’s what you are.” Fiona’s advice was starting to sound like the best thing to do. Marshall covered his ears and turned away from the voice.  “You can’t do anything without ruining it.”

“Fiona!” Marshall cried. The voice was louder than ever and Marshall just wanted it to stop. He started running. 

“...I hate you…” Marshall felt tears prick his eyes.

“Fiona!”

“Duck!” Marshall wasted no time throwing himself at the floor. Fiona jumped over him and slashed at a creature he couldn’t see. The dark in the room lifted to reveal a small chest and a wooden door. The room was small. Not like the miles Marshall thought he had walked.

“Are you okay?”  Fiona asked as she wandered over to him after picking up her sword. Marshall wiped the sweat off his forehead and ran his hands through his hair, not daring to leave the floor; although his back hurt from the rock he was laying on. 

“No, what was that?” Fiona sighed and sat down next to him.

“A high-level fear feaster. I have one living in my tummy. I’m scared of the ocean and it feeds on that. We found one on a train once. It convinced Cake to take a few swipes at me.” Marshall wiped at his eyes, trying to keep the tears from falling.

“Well, it sucks.” His voice cracked and Fiona rubbed his shoulder.

“I’m sorry. But, hey! Now we get the treasure!” Marshall sniffled and wiped his eyes once more. Then he took a deep breath and sat up.

“Yeah. Let’s see what we found.” Fiona took the key she had gotten from the fear feaster and used it to open the chest. Inside was a giant ruby and a whole bunch of gold pieces. Fiona cheered and started digging through the gold.

“Maybe there’s something really cool at the bottom!” Marshall took the ruby out and turned it in his hands.

“Do you mind if I eat this?” Fiona glanced up and wrinkled her nose.

“I don’t care, but why do you want to eat an emerald?” Marshall let out a tiny giggle.

“Fiona, you’re color blind. This is a ruby.” She let out a tiny ‘oh’, shrugged, and went back to digging. Marshall drank the red and felt slightly better.

“Woah! There’s a map in here!” Fiona pulled the map out and opened it on the cave floor. “This must be where the rest of the treasure is!”

“Sorry, Fiona. I don’t think I’ll make it through another dungeon.”  She shook her head and stashed the map in her backpack.

“It’s fine. I’ll take Cake with me some other time. Help me carry this back to the treehouse?”  Marshall nodded and stood up. He grabbed one end and she grabbed the other. Together they made their way out of the dungeon and towards the treehouse. 

  
  


Gumball sighed. Taking down the decorations was a lot easier than putting them up. He had sent the candy people home to rest and the castle servants were dismantling the other rooms. 

He leaned the ladder against the wall so that he could take the decor off the windows; the same windows Marshall had left out of earlier. He pulled the ribbon off piece by piece and threw it to the ground. The sun was setting, lighting the horizon with a warm glow. 

Gumball pressed his forehead against the wall and sighed. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Marshall all day. He had almost started a war between three kingdoms because he hadn’t been paying attention. He pulled another piece of ribbon from the wall.

“Oops.” He heard a voice say. He looked up and floating just outside the window was Marshall Lee. Gumball’s eyes widened and his breath hitched.

“Marshall,” he whispered. Gumball climbed onto the window sill to make sure he was seeing correctly. The vampire cleared his throat and waved his hand as if to dismiss himself.

“Sorry. You’re busy. I’ll come back later.” He turned as if to leave and Gumball felt his throat close up.

“No! Wait-” He took a step forward.

And his foot met air. 

It happened in slow motion. He locked eyes with Marshall who had turned back at the sound of his voice. Gumball’s hand was reaching for him and then he was dropping.

A scream ripped itself from his throat as the wind whipped by him. Marshall cursed and dove down, desperately trying to reach him. Gumball tried grabbing the side of the building, only to have his fingers burn from the friction. 

Marshall shot out his hands and caught Gumball under his arms. The candy prince scrambled to grab onto him and pull him closer; his breaths harsh and heart pounding, Marshall’s arms tight around him.

“Gob dammit, Bubba! Are you trying to die?” Gumball started laughing, the adrenaline spiking his blood. Marshall raised an eyebrow and glanced around to find what was so funny.

“That was kinda fun. When you get over the almost dying part.” Marshall grinned as they made eye contact.

“Oh? Oh, really? Mr. I’m terrified of heights?” Gumball let out another chuckle and nodded.

“Yeah. As long as you catch me.” Marshall grabbed Gumball by the elbows.

“Good, cause I’ve wanted to throw you all day.” Gumball furrowed his eyebrows as Marshall peeled him off his body.

“Oh! Wait-” With all his strength he threw Gumball high into the air. Gumball screeched and tried to grab at him as the air once again caught at his clothes and hair. There was a moment when he felt like he stopped and then he was falling again. Marshall laughed and caught him. Only to throw him again.

When he caught him again, the prince was laughing.

“Do it again.” He pleaded with a grin. Marshall flew them higher and tossed him again. The cold air scratched his cheeks as he fell. The adrenaline pumped through his blood and made his cells come alive. Marshall was falling after him and held his arm out. Gumball took it. Marshall caught him around the waist and they laughed. Gumball clung to the vampire so he didn’t fall again; his heart might explode if he did. The two of them laughed.

“Marshall,” he breathed,  “I owe you another apology.” Marshall shook his head.

“No, I owe you one. I should have been more respectful and helped you instead of hindered.” Gumball shook his head.

“That doesn’t excuse what I said to you. I don’t mean it. I was just stressed and I took it out on you. Please don’t go away. I love being your friend.” Marshall’s heart fluttered painfully in his chest. Gumball felt a tear slip down his face.  “But I understand if you don’t want to-”

“Bubba, would I be throwing you through the sky if I didn’t want to be here with you?” Gumball shook his head and wiped the tears out of his eyes.  “I really am sorry for being a pest.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry for being mean to you.” 

“Thanks.”  They smiled at each other and then Gumball tapped Marshall’s shoulder.

“Can we sit on the ground now? It’s taking a lot of arm strength to not fall.” Marshall nodded and flew them back to the window sill. Gumball stumbled a little and had to brace himself against the wall.

“So, what are you doing now?” Marshall asked as they descended the ladder.

“Cleaning up. I have to take down all the decorations now.” Gumball sighed and looked at all the ribbons still adorning the hall.

“Can I help? To make up for earlier?” Gumball smiled.

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” The two of them worked together. Marshall taking down the decorations and Gumball shoving them into boxes. With the teamwork, they were done within twenty minutes. 

“So, if you don’t have other work,” Marshall asked as they finished stuffing the boxes in the crammed attic,  “there’s this waterfall in the forest. We could go swimming.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”


	6. Oh No, Feelings

Gumball paced outside the treehouse. He really shouldn’t be bothering Fiona with this. Especially since she had just recently gotten over him. But he didn’t know where else to turn. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t have many friends. The grass under his feet was lying completely flat from his pacing. 

The door was flung open and Cake glared at him.

“You’ve been pacing out here for two hours! Just come in.” Gumball sighed and followed Cake into the house.  “It’s not like you to just stand out there. Usually, you just prance right in.” Fiona was at the table playing some weird card game and Cake sat back down to pick up her cards.

“I don’t prance. Do I?”

“Yeah, what’s the matter PG?” They completely ignored him. He heaved a deep sigh and sat between the two of them. Fiona placed down a card and a building popped up on the board. Cake sighed and began shuffling through her cards. 

“I think I’m in love with Marshall Lee.”

Silence covered the room.

Not even BMO moved to say anything. Gumball felt his muscles tense and he started picking at the edge of the table. Their stares weighed on him like bricks and he couldn’t look up for fear of crushing his neck. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.

“Fi, you owe me that free adventure pass.” Cake finally said. Gumball chanced a glance up at them and Fiona was sighing in defeat while Cake was cheering. BMO ran up to the table and patted Gumball’s legs.

“It is okay, Prince. We all fall in love sometimes. I am married to the air.” BMO giggled and ran outside clapping with joy. 

“Dang it, PG,” Fiona sighed, scribbling the words ‘adventure pass’ on a piece of paper . “You couldn’t have waited two more months to realize this? I could have won the bet.”

“You guys were betting on my love life?” They nodded. Cake placed a card down when Fiona wasn’t looking; apparently winning the game.

“Sugar, your whole kingdom is placing bets on your love life.”  She shuffled all the cards into a pile and Fiona helped her put the game away.  “Speaking of, a lot of people now owe me.”

“What do I dooooo!”  Gumball slammed his head down and slapped the table. 

“You obviously ask him out on a date.” Fiona smiled as she sat back down at the table. 

“What?!” He squeaked, burying his face in his hands, elbows digging into the hardwood table.  “I can’t do that! We’re finally friends again. There’s no way he’ll even consider that. I’d just end up making a fool of myself. And then he won’t want to be around me anymore.” Fiona and Cake exchanged a look. 

“I think you’ve got it all wrong Gumball. Marshall really cares about you.”  Fiona sighed. 

“Right because nothing makes a guy care more than pushing him away only to desperately want him back, hurt his feelings, and then tell him you love him.”  These two were hopeless. 

Then she got an idea.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” She dashed over to her drawer and pulled out a bag. 

“You got an idea, FI?”  Cake wandered over to her. Gumball peeked out from under his arms.

“Heck yeah! It’s gonna be rad. PG go get Marshall and then meet me and Cake in the dark woods! But take your time!!” And she was rushing out the door, dragging Cake behind her. Gumball sighed and flopped back onto the table. He knew this was a mistake. Who knew what the human had in mind. 

It took him a few minutes, but he eventually gathered the motivation to get up. He made his way outside where BMO was talking to the air. 

“And then Football dropped the toothbrush right into the toilet! Hahaha!” BMO giggled.

“That’s so funny, BMO.”  Gumball jumped when the voice came out of nowhere. BMO looked so happy; giggling and clapping. Gumball smiled and continued towards Marshall’s house; carefully filing away that interaction in the ‘do not disturb’ part of his brain. 

The weather was nice today, making his walk relatively peaceful. The only problem he encountered was an old lady who had fallen asleep in the middle of the road. She turned out to be a good witch and wouldn’t let him leave without a crown of flowers. They were supposed to keep bad omens away from him. He ended up giving them to some little forest creatures who were being chased by ghosts. 

It was cold inside Marshall’s cave. The water sunk into the rocks and bounced tiny reflections onto the cave walls. Gumball stood outside the door, not yet daring to knock. He could hear Marshall’s muffled voice coming from somewhere inside. He bounced on his toes, hand hovering over the door. He chewed on his lip and glanced back towards the cave entrance.

The door opened and his gaze snapped to Marshall who was now standing in front of him, towels around his waist and shoulders. Gumball felt an unsettling heat carve through his face and neck as he coughed and glanced towards the door frame.

“Hi,” he sputtered, rubbing the back of his neck. Marshall grinned at him, toweling off his hair.

“Hi. You’ve been standing out here for ten minutes. I could feel your awkwardness from all the way upstairs.” Gumball chided himself for being so weird today. 

“Uh, yeah. I wasn’t sure if you were busy or not.” Despite himself, his eyes trailed over Marshall’s abdomen.  “Clearly you were.” Marshall shrugged his shoulders.

“Just finishing a shower. Come in while I get dressed.” Gumball tottered over to his couch and sat on the edge while Marshall floated upstairs. 

All he had to do was ask him to accompany him on some random adventure Fiona had set up; nothing particularly new. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. He glanced around the room, memorizing the way the instruments were set up or where Marshall kept his remote. 

“So, what brings the mighty prince to my humble abode this time?” Marshall, thankfully clothed this time, stood in front of him. Gumball jumped. 

“Um, Fiona set up an adventure she would like the two of us to go on. Would you like to- I mean if you’re not busy- to come with me?” Marshall glanced at his calendar and shrugged when he saw only one event there. He’s never very busy.

“Yeah, sure. It’s your turn to kidnap me for the night.” Gumball frowned, heart beating an unsteady rhythm; like that of someone dropping dishes every time something scares them. Marshall held the front door open for him.

“It’s not kidnapping if you give consent,” he mumbled, stopping halfway out the door to stare into Marshall’s eyes.

“Isn’t it?” The end of his breath grazed his cheeks and Gumball let his eyes fall to the curve of Marshall’s lips. 

“That would be an incorrect definition, yes,” Marshall smirked and leaned forward, probably to say something silly. Gumball shook himself out of his weird trance and retreated out the door. 

  
  


“This is going to be great, Cake!”  Fiona said as she placed the basket on the tree stump.

“A maze scavenger hunt wasn’t too bad of an idea.” Fiona placed an acorn on the trap to make sure it went off correctly.

“I have mathematical ideas sometimes. Now stretch us back to the entrance.” Cake stretched them back just in time to see the two boys arriving; arguing about the benefits of jeans.

“All I’m saying is that holes don’t make sense. But if you like them, then, by all means, keep tearing your new pants.”

“These used to be the epitome of fashion. Hello, Fiona.” Marshall landed on the ground; Gumball waved.

“Alright listen up.“ Fiona frowned at her vampire friend.  “Marshall, the sun is out. How are you not burning.” Marshall glanced up and shrugged.

“SPF 10,000 does wonders.” Everyone shrugged and turned back to Fiona. As long as their friend wasn’t being fried alive, they didn’t care how he did it. Well, Gumball was interested but he could hold his tongue for now. He was fairly concerned with how he hadn’t noticed his friend's lack of the usual umbrella and gloves. 

“I’ve hidden some treasure in the center of this maze. But the only way you can get it is if you bring these three items to the center.” She handed Marshall a list with sloppy handwriting.  “You have two hours or Cake and I will take the treasure.”

“While you’re doing that, I have bets to collect.” Cake muttered, rubbing her little paws together. 

“We’ve also laid a few traps in there. So be careful you two!” Fiona yelled over her shoulder as the two of them ran off. Gumball took in a deep breath of air and for the third time that day, paced outside of a door. 

“Knowing Fiona, there will be traps at random intervals so we can’t expect there to be a pattern-” Marshall ruffled his hair as he yanked the gate to the maze open; flashing him a grin as he held the door open for him.

“We’ve got this.”  Gumball took another deep breath to cool his rapidly heating cheeks and stepped inside the maze; his efforts wasted as he caught a whiff of Marshall’s scent. 

This was going to be a long two hours. 

“According to Fiona’s list, if I’m reading it right, the first item is an enchanted flower crown?” Gumball peered over his shoulder, squinting at the scribbles.

“What makes it enchanted?” Marshall glanced down at the candy prince pressed against his shoulder. A content smile stretched across his face.

“Probably magic.” Gumball huffed at him and started walking.

“Okay sure. Be that way.” Marshall shoved the list into his pocket and trotted after him. Gumball took a left and found himself pulled back against Marshall’s chest just in time to avoid walking into a spike trap.

“Watch it!” Marshall clutched his friend close as Gumball’s chest heaved with adrenaline. The spikes were polished, gleaming in the sun like deadly toothpicks.

“What the Bjork, Fiona!” He screeched as they backed away from the trap.  “Is she trying to kill us?” Marshall chuckled and Gumball pulled away from him. 

“Well, she did warn us.” Gumball was not pleased.  “Let’s just go right.” Gumball shook his head.

“I feel like we should go left. If Fiona set a trap that way, there must be something over there.” Marshall tossed the idea around in his head for a moment, then shrugged. 

“Okay.” He grabbed Gumball around the waist and flew them over the trap. It certainly wasn’t the first time Gumball had been this close to Marshall. But his heart pounded like it was. His hands started sweating. His throat was dry. And he barely registered the fact that he was now on solid ground. “Then let’s go left.”

Gumball swallowed almost painfully. Have Marshall’s eyes always been so  _ green _ ? His hands so soft? Breath so close?

“Right.” Gumball coughed to clear his throat and pulled away.  “Thank you. Now, let’s find this ‘enchanted,’” he bent his fingers into quotations,  “flower crown.”

  
  


Marshall was greatly enjoying their time in the trapped maze. He got to play the hero more often than he thought he would ever be able to in his lifetime let alone the span of two hours. Gumball seemed to be distracted by something today. Marshall had caught him staring at him more than once and then Gumball would get flustered and refuse to make eye contact for a while.

“Why are you so nervous today, Blowpop?” Marshall questioned after this happened for the seventh time. The candy prince jumped, giving Marshall a deep frown at the use of his old name. He waved the vampire’s concerns away.

“Nothing. I’m just…. thinking is all.” Marshall frowned. It wasn’t often that his friend lied to him. He shrugged and let it go. It must not be important if he didn’t want to talk about it. 

Though he had begun to wonder if it had something to do with him. Gumball jumped every time he touched him or said anything past normal conversation topics. 

“Do you think we’re close to the center yet?” Gumball whispered, shaking Marshall back to reality.  “According to the dimensions of the maze we’ve trekked through, the center should be close.” Marshall’s eyes landed on the prince’s head.

“I can’t take you seriously when you’re sparkling.” Gumball’s face flushed and he pulled his arms into himself, shooting an annoyed look at his companion. 

“You’re the one who told me to wear the stupid crown.” A few pink sparkles danced off the flowers wrapped around his dome piece. Marshall stifled a tiny giggle. 

They turned the corner and entered the center of the maze. In front of a large tree trunk sat three makeshift pressure plates each with a bowl on top. Sitting on the trunk was a basket locked in a cage. Marshall wandered over to the third plate and placed the wooden cupcake they had obtained in the bowl. Gumball placed the teddy bear and flower crown in the other two bowls. They sunk into the ground and the cage unlocked. Marshall took the basket out and smiled when he saw what was inside.

“Candy and cream puffs?” Gumball quizzed pulling one of the treats out. Marshall had already stuffed a handful of red candies into his mouth.

“It’s very Fiona and Cake,” He mumbled around the candy. Gumball frowned at him before taking a bite of the cream puff. The two of them sat on the trunk to enjoy the treats they had earned. 

  
  


Marshall was a different kind of confident, Gumball had decided. Gumball could give speeches in front of his kingdom and the other princes. He could look like he was somewhat put together and still have an air of authority. But Marshall? He was confident with who he was and what he liked. He could walk straight through this entire maze without an ounce of hesitation. And Gumball would still be at the entrance trying to assess what math or logic went into its building before deciding if it was safe or not. 

Gumball could build basic things that functioned and worked without a hitch. Marshall could create beauty. He was an artist that could make things to please and delight people while the most Gumball could do was fix a small problem. 

Marshall could find the time to spend with his friends and relax. Gumball preferred to stay working as long as possible. Marshall could always find a fun new adventure to go on and he would go as soon as the opportunity arose. Gumball sent Fiona on adventures for him. Marshall was everything Gumball wished he could be and more. 

Despite all of this, Gumball was quite comfortable with himself. Not perfect, no. No one is. But with Marshall’s help, he was learning how to be what he wanted to be. Maybe that was one of the reasons Gumball was falling in love with him. It wasn’t the biggest reason, but it was one of the more important ones. 

“You’re staring again.” Marshall’s voice startled him, making him drop the remains of his poor cream puff. “Is there something on my face?” Marshall brushed his face and frowned down at his hand. The setting sun cast a glow on Marshall that sparkled off his eyes and illuminated his pale blue-gray skin. Gumball shook his head.

“No,” He whispered. Swallowing against his nerves, he averted his eyes and tapped the trunk with his shaking fingers.  “Marshall Lee, I have something that I should probably tell you about.” Marshall glanced around the clearing, putting the rest of the candy down and gazed at his friend.

Gumball’s features were glowing and his eyes darted around with an air of seriousness. Marshall fixed his posture, now trying to contain his own feelings in the small space that was his body.

“Okay. What is it?” They made eye contact and the candy prince opened and closed his mouth a few times. Finally, he inhaled deeply and forced the air out. 

“Marshall I-” 

“You will not believe how many people just lost their gambling money!”  Cake shouted as she stretched her and Fiona into the clearing. Both boys, who hadn’t noticed how close they had drifted, jumped apart to acknowledge the sudden appearance of their friends. 

“Gambling money?” Marshall questioned. Gumball buried his face in his hands.

“Caaaake!” Fiona whined.  “Don’t tell them that!”

  
  


It was around one a.m. when the boys left Fiona’s treehouse after helping her put away the traps they could salvage. It was amazing how quickly she had set up that maze with the number of traps she had shoved in there. 

“Would your highness like an escort home?” Marshall asked, bowing with an air of mockery. Gumball rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I think it’s my turn to walk you home. I am the one who invited  _ you _ out, aren’t I?” Marshall let a grin take over his face as they walked to the crossroad that split between the Candy Kingdom and the way to Marshall’s house. 

“Now what would I do with myself if you were to get kidnapped on your way home in the dark?” He pressed his head against his chest. Gumball flushed and glared at him.

“I can take care of myself, thank you very much.” Marshall scoffed at him. 

“Oh, like that’s true. Where’s the tally sheet of how many times Fiona has had to come to save you from Simone or another kind of prince-napping person?” Gumball stopped walking and folded his arms. 

“Excuse me? I can defend myself just fine. I’m just… caught off-guard sometimes.” He averted his eyes while Marshall snorted.

“Oh, please,” He drawled.  “Like you could actually-” A weight slammed into Marshall’s side, sending him flailing to the floor. He threw his arms up and thrashed against Gumball’s attacks. Before he could even blink Gumball’s hip was pressing his abdomen harshly into the ground. His left shin pressed Marshall’s right arm down, cutting off the blood flow. Gumball had one hand pinning down his other arm and one hand gently applying pressure to his throat. 

Both sets of lungs heaved, trying to collect the chilly night air. Marshall stared with wide eyes at how close Gumball’s face was to his. Gumball wore a serious expression; a hint of the cold, emotionless warrior showing through. Their breath mixed in the small space between them. Marshall’s heart pounded painfully against his ribs. 

Gumball gazed down at his friend, anger quickly fading at the emotions swirling in those blazing green eyes. Marshall let out a tiny gasp when he accidentally pressed down on his throat. He bit his lip as his gaze traveled the flushed face below him. Marshall’s lips were parted as he drew in unsteady breaths. They were so close, so  _ tempting _ ! 

Gumball leaned down a fraction of an inch before he met Marshall’s gaze again. 

Then it hit him.

A blanket of embarrassment fell over him and he scrambled to remove himself from Marshall’s bubble and maybe from existence. Marshall slowly sat up and rubbed at his throat.

“I’m so sorry!” He squeaked, the night now uncomfortably warm.  “I just wanted to prove that- that I could protect myself.” Marshall was staring at him now, eyes holding too much emotion for Gumball to process.

“Bubbs-”

“How about we both just walk ourselves home! It’d be faster that way anywho.” He cleared his throat.  “How. Anyhow. Okay, lovely. This was fun. I’ll see you, uh, later.” And then he was sprinting towards the Candy Kingdom as fast as his legs could carry him. Guess who had made a fool of themselves?


	7. When Feelings Boil

The dark morning light graced the horizon and dimmed the light of the stars. It was growing warmer and the chill inside of Gumball’s lungs was thawing. He tapped his pen against his notebook, chewing his lip. This poem was going nowhere. 

Neither was his paperwork.

Or his sleep schedule.

He threw his notebook down and turned to stare over the landscape, crossing his arms over the railing and resting his chin on them. He hadn’t seen Marshall in three days. And yet he was still left in disarray. 

“Forgive me for intruding, your majesty,” Peppermint Maid whispered.  “But it is time for you to do the monthly rounds.” Gumball sighed and stood from the ground. 

“Okay, let’s get on with it.”

  
  


Marshall hovered just outside the candy kingdom. What if Gumball didn’t want to see him? He ripped his hands through his hair as he paced by the gate. He had done this same thing for two nights now. 

“Are you okay, young one?”  An old candy with a walking cane questioned as she walked by.

“Young?” Marshall snorted.  “I’m a thousand years old!” The candy just smiled and shook her head.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Marshall sighed and plopped down onto one of the benches lining the street. The candy sat next to him, resting most of her weight against her cane.

“ Tell Grandma Taffy what’s on your mind.” Marshall inhaled deeply and looked towards the stars. What could it hurt? 

“I’m on my way to visit with a friend. But I’m not sure if he’ll want me to be there. Things have been awkward between us lately.” Grandma Taffy tapped her cane against the ground and smacked her very old, dry lips. 

“Is he just a friend?” Marshall sighed, rubbing his arms against the nerves and chill. 

“I may be in love with him.” Marshall refused to make eye contact with her.  “But he doesn’t know that.”

“You haven’t told him? Why not?” She dug in her purse and started munching on some tiny snacks. 

“Because I-”  Marshall stopped. Why hadn’t he told him? 

“Be honest with yourself, dear.”

“Because he’s so…” Marshall took a moment to breathe.  “Because he’s a good person and I’m not.”

“Hmm. Would you say you two are close?”  Marshall gave a little half laugh and a false smile. 

“I guess. We’ve been friends for a long time.” Grandma Taffy smiled.

“You know, when I first met my wife, we were enemies. We both owned barbershops and we were always trying to steal each other’s customers. A little competition never hurt anyone. I couldn’t have loved her if I believed her to be a bad person. Though at the beginning that’s what I thought. She used free lemonade and cupcakes to win customers over. Talk about a dirty trick”

“Was she? A bad person?” Grandma Taffy gave a little laugh.

“Goodness, no. A little too competitive and stubborn, but not bad. My husband thinks that she was a bit of a whirlwind. But, toots if I don’t miss that whirlwind.” Grandma Taffy fell silent for a moment. Marshall sighed. Maybe he should tell Gumball. What’s the worst that can happen?

“You can’t be a bad person if you’re willing to listen to this old lady ramble on.” Marshall gave her a small smile.  “You only have so much time. Why waste it worrying?”

“Thank you. I think I will tell him.” He stood up and waved goodbye to the candy.

  
  


When Marshall finally landed on Gumball’s balcony, he was greeted with an unusual sight. Gumball was using his arms as a pillow, his feet curled under him, and he was fast asleep. Marshall pushed some papers aside and sat next to him, gently moving him onto his shoulder so his neck wasn’t at such an extreme angle. He didn’t dare wake him; who knew how much sleep he had gotten lately?

His gaze drifted to the papers with curly, pristine handwriting. Most of the papers were scribbled out or rewritten over old words, rendering them illegible. The one Gumball was holding, didn’t appear to have the frustrated marks. Marshall carefully picked it up.

“I am dreaming Dear of you, day by day

Dreaming when the skies are blue, When they're gray

When the silv'ry moonlight gleams, Still I wander on in dreams

In a land of love, it seems, Just with you

Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you

Let me hear you whisper that you love me too

Keep the love-light glowing in your eyes so true

Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you

Longing for you all the while, More and more;

Longing for the sunny smile, I adore

Birds are singing far and near, Roses blooming ev'rywhere

You, alone, my heart can cheer; You, just you

Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you

Let me hear you whisper that you love me too

Keep the love-light glowing in your eyes so true

Let me call you "Sweetheart," I'm in love with you.”

**(Not my original piece. It is shown in the show and originally written by Beth Slater Whitson.)**

Marshall had never been simultaneously so upset and so flustered at the same time. This poem was so sweet, but- Marshall took a deep breath- who was it for? 

Gumball made a noise and Marshall shoved the poem back to where it was. He panicked before just settling for the pretend to be cool approach. 

“Marshall?” Gumball mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  “What are you doing here?”

“Someone looks a little sleepy, your majesty.” Gumball glanced around. He shuffled all his papers back into his book as quickly as possible.

“Uh, how are you?” He almost slapped himself. He threw his journal and papers into his room; they slid under his dresser. Marshall smirked at him.

“I’m fine. How’s the perfect little prince doing?” Gumball frowned and stumbled to his feet. His knees cracked and he hissed. Maybe sleeping on the balcony wasn’t the best of ideas. 

“I’m not-” another crack-  “not perfect. But I’m good. What are you doing here?”  Marshall gasped.

“So, what? I’m not welcome here anymore, Blowpop?” Marshall stood with him. Gumball flushed, rubbing the aches out of his arms.

“Of course you’re welcome. But it’s been three days and-”

“Speaking of,” Marshall interjected before either of them could get weird about things,  “you were going to tell me something last time we were talking. You know, before Fiona and Cake showed up at the maze?”  Gumball flushed, panic spreading through his blood.

“Oh! I, uh, well, the, uh, the Candy Kingdom is going to be throwing a, uh, goodwill party this Saturday.” Yeah, he could arrange a party in that amount of time. Cool, good thinking.  “And, I was, uh, wondering, if you would be willing to play a few songs there? More people will show up if you do.”  Marshall glanced over the form of the prince.

“Yeah, okay. I can do that. I don’t know why you were so nervous about that.” Gumball forced a chuckle.

“Hehe, yeah. So, we have party preparations to attend to.” Gumball was drawn into Marshall’s eyes.

“We?” Gumball nodded, breaking the contact.

“Yes, we. You’re here; might as well help out. And we don’t have all night.”

  
  


“Why are you throwing a party again, PG?” Fiona asked as she helped string up the balloons. 

“Because I panicked!” Cake stretched them down and clucked her tongue.

“Honestly, boy. Just tell him. You’re wasting too much time.” She glanced over towards Lord Monochromicorn.  “It doesn’t do you any good to not spend time with your loved ones.”

“We’re both immortal, Cake.” Gumball rearranged the desert’s table. Cake shook her head.

“Uh nuh, honey! You’ve almost died quite a few times on our watch and Marshall still has quite a few weaknesses. You can’t account for what tomorrow will bring; immortal or not.” Gumball felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“You’re right. You’re right and I’m an idiot.”

“Well, we all knew that.” Marshall slung an arm around Gumball’s shoulders. “But Cake being right is a new thing. What is she right about?”

“This sweet little prince here loves-”

“Cupcakes!” Gumball interjected.  “I love cupcakes. Fiona! Be a dear, and take Marshall to get the cupcakes with red frosting?” Fiona smacked her forehead and tugged Marshall away by his sleeve. Gumball met Cake’s disapproving eyes.

“I panicked!”

  
  


“Why are we in your room again?” Marshall asked as Gumball dug through his closet. Pink, Pink, too pink, white, blue, purple.

“We need to find you a more appropriate outfit for tonight. You need to look at least semi-professional.” Marshall snorted and plopped himself onto Gumball’s bed.

“I think I look fine.” Gumball huffed and pushed his way to the back of his closet.

“Well, of course, you look fine!” A beat of silence.  “But, you should dress up just a little.” Marshall watched as the closet devoured him and smirked a little when the usually so organized candy prince started tossing clothes onto the floor.

“You think I look _fine?”_ A sputtered bunch of nonsense filtered from the closet. Marshall cackled and leaned back to stare at the roof. A few moments later a shirt hit him in the face. He yelped and glared up at Gumball who was staring at his jeans.

“I think with your look and theme that your pants work well. But, you’re going to need a tie.” And he disappeared back into the closet. Marshall sighed, deciding it was better not to argue and slipped off his shirt to put on the navy blue button-up that Gumball had thrown at him.

“Should we go with a purple or dark green tie? I’m leaning towards purple but you might look good in green.” Marshall sighed and lifted the collar of his shirt.

“Purple fits better with your ‘theme’.” Gumball hummed and stumbled out of the closet holding a deep solid purple tie. He slung it around Marshall’s neck and turned back to start picking up the clothes he had thrown around. Marshall fiddled with the tie before opting to just tie it like he would his shoes. Somehow, that didn’t look quite right. 

“Marshall?” He looked up to see Gumball holding back a laugh.  “Do you know how to tie ties?”

“Um, I did a really long time ago. But, it’s been so long that I kinda forgot.”  This time Gumball did laugh. He walked over and undid whatever mess Marshall had tied. Marshall dropped his hands to his side as Gumball calmly ran through steps he had memorized. His nose scrunched up as he focused. 

“There.” He gave it a gentle tug.  “All proper. Mostly proper.” He corrected after glancing at the holes in his jeans.

“Thanks,” He whispered. Their gazes met. 

They were closer than either of them originally thought they were. Gumball squeezed Marshall’s tie as he felt his whole body constrict on him, making it extremely hard to breathe. Marshall brought his hands up and gently gripped Gumball’s biceps. 

“Bubba,” the candy prince drew in a breath,  “I have something I want to tell you.” Gumball’s vocal cords refused to work.

“Okay, ” he choked past the blockage in his throat. Marshall took a deep breath.

“For a long time I’ve-” There was a knock on the door. Gumball jumped but didn’t pull away from the vampire.

“Your majesty,”  Butterscotch Butler called from the other side,  “the guests are arriving.” 

“Okay, thank you!” He breathed. He turned back to Marshall with hopeful eyes.  “You were saying?” Marshall sucked in a breath and shook his head.

“It can wait. Let’s go start your party.”

  
  


Gumball could see why Marshall Lee had so many fans. His singing voice was amazing. No matter how many times he heard it, he couldn’t help but stop and listen. 

“You’ve got it bad, your highness.” Gumball glanced down and saw Grandma Taffy wandering over to the punch bowl. 

“Excuse me?” She winked at him and went to join her husband in the mosh pit the party bears had started. Shortly after, the music slowed.

“Slow dance with you. I just wanna slow dance with you.” Marshall winked at Gumball, who felt his face flush.

“Why don’t you go get him?” Fiona asked as she poured some more punch into her cup.

“Well, for one, he’s in the middle of a song-”

“A song he wrote for you.”

“You can't prove that.”

“He just winked at you.”

“And two, I’m still panicking and a little nervous.” Fiona huffed.

“I know all the other boys are tough and smooth and I got the blues but I wanna slow dance with you.”

“Honestly, you two are a mess. I’m going to go talk to Flame Prince who’s awkwardly standing in the corner. And I’m going to ask him out.”  She threw her hands in the and walked backward into the crowd.

“I get it! You’re clearly superior, Fiona!” She disappeared and reappeared next to Flame Prince. Gumball averted his gaze back to Marshall who was strumming out the last few notes of his song. 

“Yo, Party Pat! Switch me out here.” The party bear nodded and took up the DJ stand. The music switched back to that of fast party jams. Gumball chugged his punch as Marshall strode over to him. 

“You look bored, your highness.” Marshall breathed, slightly out of breath. Gumball shook his head.

“Not at all. You, however, seem to be a bit out of breath.” Marshall scoffed.

“Never. Your party seems to be cooling down. Are you down for some pranks?” Gumball shot a look at Fiona and then around the party. He shrugged.

“Sure, why not?” Marshall chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, ho, ho. So, you do have a rebellious spirit in there somewhere.”

“Only when it’s called for. Follow me.” 

  
  


The two of them slipped around the corner, bracing themselves against the wall as the castle staff rushed past them with some towels. 

“Someone spilled more soda!” They had to struggle to keep their laughs in check. Gumball opened one of the spare rooms and they stumbled inside, laughing once the door was closed.

“I can’t believe you tied all of those cups together, Gum!” Marshall chuckled. Gumball leaned against the wall for support as his lungs struggled for air.

“You’re the one who glued the snacks to the table.” Marshall sat next to the candy prince who had sunk to the floor.

“We probably shouldn’t go out there for a while. Just in case someone saw us.” Gumball nodded, letting out a few more burnt out chuckles. 

“Thank you, Marshall.” He smiled. Marshall nodded.

“Of course. Who knew you could be so cool.”  Gumball shrugged. 

“Fiona said the same thing when we pulled pranks on Lemongrab.” They sat in silence for a moment, trying to catch their breath. Gumball found himself staring at Marshall. Now would be the perfect time to tell him. He could practically hear Fiona and Cake yelling at him to just suck it up already. But what does he say? What does he start with?

“You’re thinking pretty hard over there. Your forehead has frustration crinkles.” Marshall leaned over and smoothed his finger down Gumball’s forehead. Gumball sucked in a breath. “What are you thinking about.”

“Um, how to tell you that I’m in love with you.”

Silence.

Marshall cleared his throat and blinked a few times.

“Can… Can you say that again? I think I hallucinated.”  Gumball drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I’m in love with you, Marshall Lee.” A deep crimson shade raced across Marshall’s cheeks and ears. He opened his mouth to respond but Gumball shook his head and trudged on.  “You’re always pulling me out of my comfort zone. Which is a good thing because we always end up having fun. You always have my back and I wanna be there for you. You always help me relax and you make me feel safe from all the pressure of ruling a kingdom and not messing anything up. You’re so confident about anything you do and it inspires me to want to be confident too. So, yeah...” He trailed off when Marshall still hadn’t said anything. He looked like he’d just been run over by a herd of stampeding flowers.

Then he started crying.

“Oh, glob, I’m sorry!” Marshall waved him off, scrubbing the tears off his cheeks.

“Don’t be. I’m not upset. I just-” He sniffled and drew in a breath.  “I love you too. I tried to tell you earlier but I’m a coward.” He let out a sad chuckle. “You’re just so good. And smart. And I got scared that you would push me away again.” Now it was Gumball’s turn to cry.

“I’m so sorry I made you feel that way, Marshall. I- wait.” Marshall’s words caught up with him.  “You love me?”

“Yes, you dingwad.”  Gumball smiled at him.

“Your highness!” Peppermint Maid screeched as she flung the door open. The boys jumped apart. “We’ve been looking all over for you! It’s time for the guests to leave.” Gumball sighed and stood up, dragging Marshall with him.

“Wait for me in my room?” Marshall smiled and winked at him.

“Sure, just don’t take too long, sweetie!” Gumball flushed and shook his head. 

  
  


Marshall’s heart was racing as he waited in Gumball’s room. He hadn’t stopped crying; well more like he’d started and stopped crying several times. He’d read Gumball’s poem a few more times, having snatched it from under the dresser where he’d thrown it a few days earlier. 

He now paced the length of the room. He trusted Gumball. He believed him. But he still had anxiety. The door opened and Gumball walked in; leaning against the door and sighing. He was tired.

“You weren’t lying, right? I know you weren’t but-” Gumball let out a small chuckle and sashayed over to the vampire. He placed his hands on Marshall’s face.

“I love you, Marshall Lee. I can’t and won’t lie about that. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you.”  Marshall let out a small chuckle.

“You’re so cheesy.”

“Your turn. Were you lying?”

“I lie a lot. But not about this. My love for you burns brighter than my need for oxygen.”

“You don’t even need to breathe.” Gumball frowned.

“But I do need you.” 

“Oh.” Gumball’s insides melted, his knees falling weak. “Can I kiss you now?”

“Please.” Gumball pressed up onto his tiptoes and slid their lips together. It would have been beautiful if Gumball hadn’t started laughing.

“I can’t kiss you if you’re laughing.” Marshall was chuckling too. He grabbed Gumball’s waist to steady the two of them.

“I’m sorry, it’s just-” he interrupted himself with a laugh,  “I’m the cheesy one?”

“Oh, you loved it.”  Marshall pressed another small kiss to Gumball’s lips. Followed by a return kiss.

“I did. I can’t breathe.” Another giggle.  “I love you so much.” Another small kiss.

“Am I allowed to ask you out on a date?” Another laugh. Gumball pushed his hair back. Marshall fixed a strand he missed.

“You yoink me out of my room for months with just a little word manipulation and now you ask permission?”  His voice was little more than a whisper.

“Is that a no?” Gumball shook his head.

“I don’t think I could say no to you if I tried.” Gumball smiled and kissed Marshall again; this one longer, slower, no more words to interrupt them. Gumball pushed his hands through Marshall’s hair, stepping closer, almost causing Marshall to trip. Marshall hugged Gumball close, not willing to let him go. 

Gumball pulled away for air but stayed close.

“The sun will be up soon. Do you want to stay here?” Marshall gave him a sad smile.

“I would, but I have a date to plan and you have that meeting in the morning.” Gumball sighed, tracing his thumbs over Marshall’s cheeks.

“You’re right. I’d definitely be too tempted by you to go to sleep.” One more small kiss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Marshall whispered.

“You better. Don’t get caught in the sun.”

“I won’t.” Marshall pressed a kiss to GUmball’s forehead.  “Get some sleep tonight.”

“I will.”  Marshall smiled at him and disappeared out the window. Gumball was left with warm insides and a heart beating way too fast. He locked his door and slipped into bed. It was hard to get to sleep, but only because he couldn’t stop smiling and giggling to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this! I had a lot of fun writing it!


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